


Two Wars

by AaronAlive



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Rating May Change, they/them pronouns for Pidge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-09-08 22:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8866450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AaronAlive/pseuds/AaronAlive
Summary: Peter Pan AU.Keith is trying to survive the hardships of living in a world at war when he suddenly wakes up outside the confines of his life, face to face with a flying boy wearing the most ridiculous outfit he's ever seen. Now he has to face the struggles of his daily life as well as battle the mysterious Captain Hook in this strange new world called Neverland.The AU idea is credit of tumblr user Justklance!!!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and welcome to my first fic on this site!! Please leave a comment if you liked it or if there was something you didn't like. I always love feedback! Also, if you notice anything incorrect with the historical details, please let me know so I can fix it. Otherwise, enjoy!!!
> 
> The Peter Pan AU idea is from tumblr user justklance! Show them some love ^_^  
> http://justklance.tumblr.com/

“Wake up. Keith, wake up!”

Keith opened his eyes reluctantly, squinting at the soft dawn light that fell upon his bed, still too blinding for him when his eyes had been accustomed to the peaceful darkness behind his eyelids.

“It’s time to get ready for school,” his mother’s warm voice greeted him. “Hurry and get up.”

Keith sighed, wishing he could sleep longer, just as he wished every morning. He shut his eyes again and rolled away from the bright light hitting his face. Groggily, he reached out to find the warmth of his brother so that he could cuddle against him and hope that Shiro would convince their mother to let Keith and him sleep just a few minutes more. However, his wandering fingertips didn’t find Shiro’s sturdy shoulder, but rather brushed against the empty space under his blankets. Then it came back to Keith with a dull pang deep inside him: Shiro wasn’t here anymore.

Keith pulled his hand back against his chest and curled in on himself, letting the icy numbness spread through him as he kept his eyes shut tight, refusing to look at the empty space next to him. His mother must have noticed his movements, because she reached a hand out to stroke lightly against Keith’s cheek.

“Come on, my child,” she murmured once more. Her voice was laced with pain and sadness, but there was still strength to it. Keith found himself obeying her words, and slowly he rose from the bed, no longer having any desire to stay there with nothing but his thoughts.

Unsurprisingly, Keith’s father was already up and situated in the chair he barely left, next to the window and bookcase. He was a little over a decade older than Keith’s mom, his age being 52 and hers 41, but he still appeared abnormally old compared to the the kind and sturdy woman who had woken Keith up. His hair was graying rapidly, so that only the sideburns were still black like they had been in his youth, and there was a large bald spot crowning the top of his head. He had a scruffy, badly-shaven beard that was clearly a product of lack of effort rather than style. His face was wrinkled and sunken with pain. The man’s dark eyes barely seemed to see at all, but stared almost endlessly at nothing, overflowing with tiredness.

“Morning, father,” Keith said out of habit. As on most days there was no answer, or even a single sign that the old man had heard him at all.

His wife cast a despairing look his way, but made no attempt to speak with him. She instead crossed over to the corner with a table and makeshift cupboard and began to pack loaves of dry bread into bundles of cloth and string. She hummed a tune under her breath as she busied herself, her plump form swaying along and her long, beautiful black hair tied up neatly in a bun behind her head. 

Keith pulled the large traveling trunk out from underneath his bed where he kept his clothes and tried to wipe thoughts of Shiro and his father from his mind. He dressed himself quickly, then scrubbed his face in the washing basin on top of his parent’s dresser next to their bed. Through the thin wall that separated the two halves of the barracks, he could hear their neighbors beginning to rise as well. When they had first come here almost two years ago, both families had been squished within the tiny single-roomed dwelling. Since then they had constructed a makeshift wall to give both households more privacy, but there still wasn’t enough space for more than one room each for the dwellings of the two families.

“Here’s lunch,” Keith’s mother held out one of four wrapped bundles she had arranged. “Make sure to go the mess hall at lunchtime to get some soup or something to soften the bread.”

“Thanks,” Keith smiled, taking the bundle and picking up his book bag. “Are you volunteering in the mess hall again today?”

“Of course! I’m going to walk the Fujita’s over in just a moment so that they can grab a bite to eat.” She nodded in the direction of their neighbors, concealed by the flimsy wall.

“Okay. I’ll say hi to you, maybe,” Keith joked.

“You better!” Keith’s mother swatted him on the shoulder playfully. “Now get going. I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Bye, mom,” Keith kissed her on the cheek before heading to the door. He didn’t say a word to his father as he passed him, who likewise didn’t seem to notice his son’s existence.

Keith heard his mother whisper to his father just before the door shut behind him, “I’ll bring you some breakfast in a bit, Itsuki.”

The dirt roadways between the small barracks were quickly filling with children on their way to school and workers heading to their jobs. Keith spotted the camp manager outside of the council building, pausing to read a newspaper. A few young children kicked a ball through the streets and some workers were busy unloading goods from a supply truck parked in front of the co-op store. He passed by the Buddhist church, then the Catholic one, which was empty of parishioners since it wasn’t Sunday morning. Keith slowed his pace a bit as he grew closer to the school, reluctant for the sight that was coming next.

He rounded a bend, and there it was. The tall, barbed wire fence enclosing them all. A guard was walking along the other side of it on morning patrol, his rifle pressed against his shoulder. Keith dropped his eyes quickly and hurried by, desperate to get away from there. The guard ignored him, like they usually did. That didn’t make them any less intimidating.

A few short minutes more and he had arrived at the school buildings, mercifully out of sight of the barbed wire fence. Like most of the other buildings in town, they were barracks that had been re-purposed, now housing the elementary, junior high, and high school. Keith noticed the crowding around the entrances to the two high school buildings and silently cursed his bad luck. It looked like he wasn’t getting a desk today.

Classes passed the way they always did, Keith being quiet and attentive while taking lots of notes. Some of his old friends tried to catch his eye, but like every other day Keith stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice. When lunch came he rushed out of school and to the mess hall in the center of town before any of his classmates had time to stop Keith and try and talk to him. There he sat and ate lunch with his mother, then brought some lunch home to his father. It looked like the old man had barely even touched his breakfast. Keith exchanged no words with him. He raised his hand as if he was going to pat his father’s shoulder, then hesitated and pulled away. After that, Keith went back to school for the rest of his classes.

Once school was out, he continued his daily routine of dropping his book bag off at home before heading to his job. Keith was an electrical lines worker, in charge of maintaining the power lines that brought electricity to the internment camp. He spent his days after school climbing ladders and repairing these power lines and any power malfunctions within the town’s buildings, earning the money needed to support his family. He enjoyed the work since his coworkers left him alone for the most part, and it was able to distract his mind from unwanted thoughts. That day there was a power issue in the office of the camp’s hospital that was extra tricky, so Keith stayed late until it was finally resolved. It was around ten when he got out, not looking forward to the homework still awaiting him. Still, he headed back through the mostly empty streets, wanting nothing more than to get this final task done so that he could finally sleep.

Keith’s mother wasn’t in their room when he got back, but he could hear her voice next door, fussing over the elderly couple that lived there as she always did. His father was already in bed, but his open, albeit, unfocused eyes indicated he had not yet fallen asleep. Keith spread his homework out on the floor and began to tiredly trudge through each assignment. He was nodding off when the door to their room opened.

“Keith,” his mother smiled. “You’re back later than usual. Did you have time to get dinner? I didn’t see you at the mess hall.”

Keith shook his head sleepily and his mother sighed. “Thank you for your hard work,” she stooped to pat his head, ruffling his mullet. “I think I have some leftover bread crusts in the cupboard, but that’s all. I’ll need to stop by the store tomorrow.”

“Thank you, mom,” Keith smiled. He got up and pulled out the crusts, scarfing them down.

“Keith,” his mother spoke up as he was finishing the last crumbs. “You’ve been working so hard lately, you never have time to do anything for yourself. Wouldn’t you like to play baseball with your friends again on the weekends?”

Keith stiffened at her words. “Not really,” he mumbled.

“But you used to love baseball!” His mother pressed on. “I think it would be good if you got out of your routine a little and had some fun.”

“Really, I’m fine,” Keith said flatly. He didn’t look her in the eye.

His mother hesitated before she spoke. “I-I know you used to always play baseball with S-hiro,” her voice broke when she said her other son’s name, “but you still played it without him until-”

“I don’t want to play baseball!” Keith snapped. “Not ever again!” His anger fizzled away when he noticed the tears that had been rolling down his mother’s cheek since she’d first mentioned Shiro’s name. “Mom, I’m sorry. I just-”

“Its okay,” she smiled weakly at him, waving away his apology as she hastily wiped at her tears. “It doesn’t have to be baseball. Maybe you could play soccer or join the choir. Just something other than school and work.”

“I’ll be fine, mom, really. I like my job, and school is good, too. I don’t need anything else.”

The older woman sighed, knowing her son was too stubborn for this argument to be of any benefit right now. “Alright. But it’s late, and you need sleep. Whatever homework you haven’t finished can wait until tomorrow.”

“Yes, mom,” Keith smiled weakly.

His mother stepped up to hug him goodnight and he returned her embrace. Keith quickly gathered up his things and put them away before crawling into bed. He huddled under the covers, grateful for their warmth as his mother turned out the light. Despite his tiredness, it was a while before Keith fell asleep, memories of Shiro and the days before he had left still clouding his mind.

‘One more year,’ Keith thought to himself. ‘Just gotta get through one last year before I can leave this camp and join that damn war. Don’t you worry, Shiro. I’ll make them pay. I’ll make every last one of those bastards pay!’

 

“That has to be the stupidest haircut I’ve ever seen.”

‘Wha-’ Keith thought groggily.

“Hey you! Mullet. Wake up!”

Was it time for school already? It felt like Keith had only just shut his eyes. Then again, that voice didn’t sound like his mother’s. And why the hell would she be calling him mullet? So, was he dreaming then?

“I won’t hesitate to throw you in the ocean.”

What a weird dream.

Just then something wet and cold splashed across Keith. He bolted upright, his eyes flying open. “What the hell?!” He yelped, tripping over his own feet and face-planting into the sand. Laughter rung around him and he lifted his head up hastily, only to be blinded by bright light. “Shit,” Keith hissed, squinting as he waited for his eyes to adjust.

“Well, I guess that means you aren’t dead!”

“Who are you?” Keith growled, eyes starting to finally register his surroundings. He was on a beach. But not like the beaches back in Oregon where he’d grown up. This beach was tropical, surf crashing against it and rimmed with lush green jungle as the sun beat down overhead. “Where am I?”

“Lance,” the voice informed him, “and good question. I want to say we’re on the south side of the island, but honestly, I’m not sure. I was too busy appreciating the day to really keep track of where I was headed. Well, at least I was appreciating the day until I caught sight of your hair...”

“Lance-?” Keith mumbled, glancing around him from his position on all fours in the sand. The beach was empty; not a soul in sight.

“Up here, genius.”

Keith looked up and yelped, scurrying back. Above him was a boy around his age, floating several feet off the ground. He had tan skin, dark brown hair, and piercing blue eyes that rivaled the sky behind him. He was also dressed in one of the cheesiest outfits Keith had ever seen: forest-green tights and a tunic with a stupid-looking pointed cap. The only good part was the red feather that stuck out from said cap, a color Keith could always approve of, but in that moment his poor clothing choice didn’t matter so much as the fact that he was literally floating.

“What the hell?” Keith cried out, stumbling to his feet and backing away.

“Well that’s rude,” Lance frowned at him. “I’ll have you know I’m the resident pretty boy around here. They call me the panther.” He made a ridiculous clawing motion with his hand.

“What?” Keith stared at him blankly for a moment. “Wait, no, I mean, how the hell are you floating?”

Lance grinned. "You want to know my secret?” Keith just stared at him, which Lance seemed to take as a yes. He floated forward, causing Keith to back up more. However, Lance reached out and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him close so he could whisper in his ear. “It’s a little something called faith, trust, and pixie dust,” Lance murmured, sounding entirely too seductive for someone who was babbling about pixies while in green tights.

“Um, yeah, okay,” Keith removed Lance’s hand from his shoulder and took a big step back. This had to be one of the weirdest dreams he’d ever had. It was a dream, right? It felt so real, but there was no way that it could be.

“So, yeah- This was a nice talk,” Keith continued, backing further away from crazy tights guy, “but I really need to go, uh, somewhere that’s not here, so-”

“Not so fast,” Lance interrupted, flying at Keith again. However, all the humor had gone from his face as he latched onto him. Keith didn’t even have time to think before Lance was behind him, something sharp and cold pressed against his neck as he lifted Keith into the air with him.

Keith gasped at the sudden lack of solid ground under his feet and squirmed around until he felt the sharp object prick into his neck. He froze, fear taking over him as a single drop of blood trailed down to his collarbone. He turned his head slightly and found Lance right there, grinning maliciously at him, his face only an inch away.

“I just need to ask you a few questions. Hope you don’t mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't get the time-frame from the hints I provided, this story is set in the 1940s (specifically in 1944) during World War II. Keith and Shiro are Japanese Americans who have been forced into internment camps. I originally picked this time-frame because I thought the Peter Pan Disney movie was set in WWII (it had been many years since I'd watched it). However, going back and watching it again I discovered that the Disney movie was actually set during WWI, but I'd already wrote the first chapter and there was a much larger population of Japanese Americans in the U.S. by WWII, so I've stuck with this time period.  
> Anyways, I hope you liked this first chapter!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this next chapter was posted awfully fast, but that's just because I wrote the first two chapters while waiting for ao3 to send me an invite so I could post my story :p I can't promise updates will be this fast in the future but I hope update as frequently as possible!!!

Keith yelped as Lance slammed him into a tree, pinning him against it with the dagger still firmly at his throat.

“Where are your buddies?” Lance hissed into his ear.

“What?” Keith asked.

“I know you guys would never come onto shore alone. So why’d you stray so far from your crew, huh? Thought it’d be nice to do some sunbathing?” Lance laughed humorlessly.

“What crew? I’m not here with anybody!”

“Was this an ambush? Are they waiting nearby, thinking I would come and save the ‘poor lost soul’ lying around on the beach?” The dagger was pressing further into Keith’s neck, the pressure just barely light enough to keep it from cutting him. The weapon felt awfully sharp for a dream.

“I’m not a part of some ambush!” Keith protested. “I just woke up here!”

Lance smirked. “I think you better start rethinking your answers, or I’m going to have to start chopping off pieces of you and feeding them to the fishes.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Keith screeched. “I’m telling you, I didn’t do anything so let me go!”

Suddenly, all the breath was crushed from his lungs as Lance buried his knee in Keith’s gut. Keith fell forward onto the ground, clutching his stomach and wheezing as he tried desperately to regain his breath. 

Lance rolled him over and pinned his hands behind his back, leaning down close so he could hiss at the boy below him. “I’m out of patience. Now either you start telling me something useful about Captain Hook, or I feed his loyal little bitch to the kraken.”

“I don’t- know anyone- named- Captain Hook,” Keith wheezed. “Please, stop. I really- don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Lance shrugged. “Have it your way, then.”

Suddenly Keith was in the air once more, climbing higher and higher. He yelped and clutched desperately at the arms pulling him up, watching as the tree he had previously been pinned against turn into a tiny dot in a sea of green jungle. The ocean stretched out endlessly beyond the shore, dark and intimidating as they flew higher above it.

“Stop it!” Keith screamed. “Put me down!”

“Poor choice of words,” Lance grinned. He let his grip slip a little on Keith, causing the other boy to shriek. Lance laughed darkly at his joke. After a few more moments, he stopped their ascent. “Last chance,” he growled. “Where is Hook? What’s he planning? Where’s the party you came to shore with? What were you looking for?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know!” Keith screamed, keeping a death grip on Lance.

Lance sighed. “Fine. Don’t worry, I’ll put you down.”

Keith let out a sigh of relief. The next moment he was falling. Screams erupted from him as the wind whipped across his face. He could see the floating boy above him, waving goodbye cheerfully as Keith plummeted. He tumbled around, thrashing and screaming as the ocean grew closer and closer. He didn’t want to die!

Just then, mere inches from the water’s surface, arms wrapped around him once more and he was pulled away from the crashing waves. Next thing he knew he was being placed back down on the sand, his heart still racing in his chest. He turned his head weakly to see who had saved him. It was that same green bastard that had dropped him in the first place!

“So,” Lance smiled at him, “You really fell for me, huh?”

It took Keith a moment to register the fact that it was some kind of pick-up line, and he responded by glaring seethingly at the boy. What the hell was wrong with this guy? A second ago he was trying to kill him, and now he was hitting on him?

Lance shrugged. “Yeah, so, either you got a serious death wish, or you aren’t part of Hook’s crew after all. Sorry about the whole ‘feeding you to the kraken’ thing. But hey, monsters get hungry too.”

Keith couldn’t form words. He just tried to channel all his hatred and anger into his gaze as his mind reeled, searching desperately for something to say. Finally, he settled on the most intelligent thing he could come up with. “Your hat is stupid!”

For a moment Lance’s eyes widened, and Keith felt a surge of triumph. Had that seriously gotten to him? Then Lance collapsed, rolling around in the sand as his body shook with laughter. Keith blushed bright red, angry he couldn’t come up with anything better than that.

“My-,” Lance wheezed between his cackling, “my hat?! I almost skewer you for fish bait, and you’re upset about my hat?!”

“Shut up!” Keith snapped. “I’m upset because you’re an asshole, and you’re dressed like one too! Who the hell wears tights?”

“I like my tights,” Lance sat up, still snickering lightly. “They’re more freeing.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Keith with that last word. Keith rolled his eyes. Unbelievable. He’d almost been killed by one of the cringiest people in the world. “Besides,” Lance continued. “You’re hardly in a position to judge considering what you’ve got on your head.”

Keith gave him a confused look. “I don’t have anything on my-”

“Your hair,” Lance interrupted.

“What’s wrong with my hair?”

“Do they not have mirrors where you’re from?” Lance grinned. “A mullet?! Out of all the possible haircuts in existence, you chose a mullet?”

“So what?” Keith narrowed his eyes. “I like my hair longer.”

“At least someone does,” Lance smirked. A second later he was coughing and sputtering as he got smacked with a fist full of sand.

“That’s for my hair!” Keith yelled. He scooped up another hand full and threw it in Lance’s face. “That’s for your hat! ” 

Just then Keith launched himself on top of the sputtering Lance, pulling Lance's dagger from its sheath. He punched Lance swiftly in the gut and the boy wheezed below him, curling in on himself. “And that’s for trying to kill me!” Keith then grabbed a handful of Lance’s hair and forced his head up, pressing the dagger against his throat. “Now I have a few questions of my own.”

Panic had begun to well up in Keith as he realized this definitely felt far too real to be dream. He glared down at Lance, who was letting out a particularly creative string of cursing as he squinted through the sand in his eyes. Keith leaned in close to his face, trying to appear as intimidating as possible. “Where the hell am I?”

“I said earlier,” Lance hissed at him. “I think it’s the south side of the island, but I don’t know.”

“What island?” Keith asked frantically. “What ocean is this?”

Lance stared inquisitively at him. “You don’t know?”

“Just answer the question!” Keith barked.

Lance grinned. “Your hands are shaking.”

Keith looked down to see that Lance was right. However, he only got a glimpse, as Lance took that moment of distraction to shoot up into the air, throwing Keith off him. Keith landed hard on his back, the dagger slipping from his hand as stars erupted in his vision. He lay there for a moment, stunned, before the danger of the situation resurfaced in his mind and he scrambled to sit upright. Lance was standing before him, dagger in hand. He grinned with that stupid cocky smile of his, then did some stupid showy twirling trick with the knife before sheathing it back in his belt. Keith glared at him suspiciously as Lance stooped down to offer him a hand. Cautiously, Keith took it, and Lance pulled him to his feet. Lance beamed.

“Welcome to Neverland.”

 

Keith squirmed, uncomfortable with the fact that Lance was so close to him, pressed up against his back.

“Don’t wriggle or I’ll drop you,” Lance warned.

Keith sighed and lay still, focusing his attention on the jungle whizzing by below them.

“Wanna try something fun?” Lance grinned.

“I- Wait!” Keith yelped as they suddenly dipped down, his stomach feeling like it was in his throat. They shot below the tree line and Keith shrieked as the trunks reared before them. Lance laughed, having the time of his life as he weaved in out, barely missing each. “You’re insane!” Keith screamed.

He was answered with a slightly maniacal laugh that did not help the situation. Finally, Lance began to slow as the forest got denser and darker, less light able to find it’s way down through the tangled branches. Everything was bathed in an eerie green light here from the sun filtering through the leaves overhead. Keith felt uneasy among the gnarled trees and vines.

“Are we almost there?” He asked uncertainly.

“Yeah,” Lance grinned. “You’re gonna love our front door.”

Keith got the distinctive feeling that he definitely would not love it. Just then a pond appeared before them. Growing straight out of the pond’s center was a tree, taller and larger than any of those around it. A canopy of vines hung over the pool and met at the tree in the center, concealing the pond from the sky.

“Home sweet home,” Lance announced happily.

Keith looked all around but he couldn’t spot a single door or entryway, much less some kind of building. “Um-” he began. “Where, exactly?”

“Glad you asked!” Lance beamed. “Want to go for a swim?”

“Huh?” Keith looked back at him, trying to figure out what Lance’s question had to do with anything. Suddenly, without any further warning, Lance shot down towards the pond, Keith carried along with him. “Wai-!” Keith managed to get out before his mouth and eyes were filled with water. The cold shocked him into stillness for a brief moment as Lance dove deeper into the pool. What the hell was going on? Was Lance trying to drown him? Was his plan still to kill Keith after all?

Keith desperately needed air. He clawed at Lance’s arms around him, kicking frantically in a vain attempt to propel them back to the surface. But Lance was moving in the opposite direction, and he had all the momentum. Just when Keith was sure his lungs would burst, the water around them disappeared and they were suddenly enveloped in sweet air.

Lance released Keith and he collapsed onto the floor, gasping and panting. “What-” he wheezed. “What the hell?”

“That’s the front door!” Lance smiled, wringing the bottom of his shirt out.

Keith glanced up and was shocked to see what looked almost like a large window in the earthen wall next to him, only there was no glass. The water of the pond lapped gently against this opening, stopped from spilling into the room by some invisible barrier. Beyond, Keith could see colorful fish swimming among patches of seaweed, all clustered around the trunk of the large tree that rose out of the pond’s center. And at the base of this tree, fitted cozily in a knot of the wood, was an actual window, glowing with golden light and containing the face of another person, their nose pressed up against the glass as they stared back at Keith.

“Who’s that?” Keith asked, pointing.

Lance glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, that’s Pidge. Don’t mind them, they’re probably just confused about why you have a mullet.”

“Would you knock it off with the mullet thing?” Keith snapped.

“Okay, okay, princess,” Lance raised his hands defensively. Keith glanced back over to the window across the pond, but it was empty now. At that moment Lance’s stupid pointy hat floated into view in front of the doorway, having fallen off when he dove into the pool. Lance snatched it from the water, plucked a small fish off that had been nibbling on it, and threw the fish back into the pond. He began to wring out the hat, frowning slightly as he attempted to smooth out the dripping red feather. “I really need to make a chin strap for this,” he mumbled.

Keith opened his mouth to comment about how a chin strap would make it look even worse when he was interrupted by the small person from the window bursting into the room. “Lance!” They yelled. “Who the hell is this?”

“Excellent question,” Lance responded, turning to Keith. “I was too busy trying to kill you to ask your name.”

“It’s Keith,” Keith said meekly, intimidated by the glare Pidge was shooting at him. They appeared to be a little younger than Keith, wearing a green and white t-shirt with the sleeves cut-off, cargo shorts, and thick glasses. Their ginger hair was a wild, untamable mane, and their deep brown eyes burned with a challenge, as though they were personally daring Keith to exist right here, right now.

“You were trying to kill him, so you thought it was a good idea to bring him back to our hideout?!” Pidge leered, turning their intense gaze back to Lance and allowing Keith a moment of relief.

“He looked suspiciously like he was bait for some ambush of Hook’s, just lying around on the beach,” Lance informed them. “You’ve gotta choose the pretty ones for bait.”

‘Wha-?’ Keith’s mind short-circuited. ‘Pretty? Me?’

“Well, since you brought him here I assume you made sure he’s not one of Hook’s. I also assume you know exactly where he is from, since people don’t just drop out of the sky!”

“Yes and, uh,” Lance looked away from Pidge, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “no. To the second part.”

If looks could kill, Lance would be dead where he stood. “What do you mean, no?” Pidge hissed dangerously.

“Well, he doesn’t remember how he got here!” Lance cried out, backing away slightly. “And he’s not one of Hook’s people, so I thought it would be fine-”

“You can’t just bring strangers into our hideout, Lance!” Pidge barked. “It’s called a hideout for a reason! Maybe he’s a double agent under Hook, or maybe he’s an assassin-”

“I already told you, I made sure he wasn’t working for Captain Hook!” Lance protested.

“Maybe not now, but what if he runs into Hook later and sells him information about us? Did you think of that? Or maybe he’s planning on stealing all your stupid trinkets!”

Lance gasped. “Keith would never! Right, Keith?”

That whole time, Keith had not been paying attention to a word either of them had said. Instead he looked up at Lance from where he was still sitting in a puddle of pond water on the floor, and said, “You think I’m pretty?”

There was silence as everyone stared at him. Then suddenly, Lance turned beat red. “No, no, no! I-I didn’t mean-” he stuttered frantically. “You’ve got it wrong! Just don’t read anything into it, okay?!”

Pidge face-palmed at the ridiculous display before them. “I can’t believe this,” they murmured. “You know what, we’ll continue this conversation later, Lance. I do not have time to deal with teen romance.”

“It’s not-!” Lance protested but Pidge continued over him.

“And Keith,” they turned to address the dripping boy on the floor who was also blushing profusely. “Don’t be surprised if you wake up dangling over a cliff…” With that, Pidge left the room.

“Why is everyone here so violent,” Keith muttered to himself.

“Don’t worry about them,” Lance spoke up, regaining his composure despite his ears still being slightly red. “They’re always on alert. I’ll take you to go meet Hunk. If we’re lucky, he might be cooking something!”

It was only then that Keith realized how hungry he was. He allowed Lance to pull him to his feet and followed him deeper into the underground hideout, mind still numb from the fact that Lance had called him pretty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested (and a history nerd, like me), here's a little background on Keith and Shiro's family:
> 
> Keith's father immigrated to the west coast of the U.S. in 1906 when he was 15 years old as part of a wave of Japanese immigrants looking for work in migratory labor jobs. He worked as a farm-hand in Oregon until he was 31 years old (1922).  
> In 1908, Japan and America had made the Gentleman's Agreement, which meant that Japan would limit Japanese immigration to the U.S. in exchange for the U.S. granting access to the wives, children, and other relatives of immigrants already resident. Hence, Japanese immigration became disproportionately female and picture brides arose. Picture brides were young women who came to America to marry the men who had originally immigrated over at the beginning of the 1900s. They got the name from the fact that the couples usually had never met before they were married and only had a picture to go on.  
> Keith and Shiro's mother was one of these picture brides, crossing the ocean to meet and marry their father in 1922 when she was 20 years old. That same year they moved to Portland, Oregon, and opened a Japanese restaurant there. Shiro was born in 1925 and Keith in 1927. They grew up happily in the family restaurant, surrounded by delicious cooking and the love of their parents.  
> If these historical details interest you, then be sure to check out the end notes over the next few chapters, as I'll be putting more facts about Japanese American internment and WWII there, as well as maybe some facts about my take on Neverland and its people (only the facts that may not come up in the story directly, so don't worry, I'm not going to spoil anything)!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone whose left Kudos and comments! It warms my heart every time I see it ^_^ I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

The aroma that greeted Keith was nothing short of heavenly as he and Lance approached the kitchen. “Yes!” Lance exclaimed, breaking into a jog and disappearing through a door up ahead. Keith hurried after him.

The room he entered was large, but nothing like a traditional kitchen. The floor, walls and ceiling were all made of soft earth. Wooden support beams helped hold up the roof, and rafters running between these pillars had what must have been hundreds of dried herbs and spices hanging from them, not to mention pots and pans and other various cooking equipment. There was a large wooden table and benches in the center of the room, and sacks of flour, sugar, salt, and other such things lined the walls. In the far corner was a large wooden basin with a water pump, and against the wall directly opposite the door was a giant stone hearth with a roaring fire, it’s billowing smoke curling up through a hole in the ceiling above it. 

Keith could just make out the silhouette of a large person standing in front of the roaring flames. As he got closer and his eyes adjusted, he could see that the person was wearing a yellow headband and t-shirt, with tan shorts and a sleeveless green jacket. His back was turned, so Keith couldn’t see his face, but his hair was short and black and his skin a deep brown, even darker than Lance’s. Lance had himself firmly latched on to the person, his arms wrapped around the taller man as he tried to continue his work.

“You beautiful bastard!” Lance exclaimed, cuddling with Hunk and making it extremely difficult for him to keep his balance.

“Lance,” Hunk spoke up. “I love you too, but the tortillas are going to burn if you don’t let go.”

Keith stood there awkwardly, Hunk having not noticed him because his back was turned and Lance seemed to have forgotten about him, too busy making his friend’s life difficult. However, Lance did finally turn around and spot Keith.

“Oh!” Lance exclaimed. “Hunk, meet Keith. Keith, meet Hunk.”

Hunk turned around, a pan of delicious food in hand. There was a surprised look on his face, and for a moment Keith feared this new person was going to have a reaction similar to Pidge’s. Then that moment ended and Hunk's face softened into a warm smile. “Nice to meet you, Keith! It’s been a long time since there was anyone new around here.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Keith smiled, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Did you come from another island?” Hunk asked. “You don’t look like one of Tiger Lily’s people.”

“No, I, um,” Keith began, still with no idea how he ended up in this ‘Neverland’ or how he was supposed to get home, “I’m from America, actually.” The other two boys stared at him blankly. “You know, the U.S.A. - Uh, the United States of-”

“Never heard of it,” Lance interrupted him.

Keith gaped at him. Even if they were on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean, the world was at war, and America was one of the top players. Where in the world could he possibly be where the people didn’t know about America? And how the hell was he supposed to get home? He must be missing school right now, and what about work? His family needed that money to get by-

“Are you okay?” A voice cut into his thoughts. Keith glanced up to find Hunk and Lance looking at him in concern.

“I-I’m fine,” Keith stammered, his head still spinning. “I just- I need to get back home.”

“At least stay for dinner,” Hunk smiled.

“Yeah, you’ve got to!” Lance chimed in. “It’s one of my favorites!”

Keith’s stomach growled, as if it had been waiting for the perfect moment, and he sighed. “Okay. But then I really need to figure out how to get back home. Is there a town on this island or-?”

“I can take you to the native village,” Lance told him. “Maybe they’ll know about Amrica.”

“America,” Keith corrected him.

“Until then, there’s food to be made,” Hunk spoke up. “Lance, set the table.”

“On it, chief,” Lance did a mock salute. Keith jumped as Lance drifted up into the air, having forgotten he could do that. Lance hovered among the rafters and took down some china plates, cups, and silver utensils that were suspiciously fancy for being in a crude underground hideout.

“Where’d you get those?” Keith asked, eyebrows raised.

Lance noticed his gesture. “Relax,” he grinned. “We traded for them. Pidge’s a genius at metal-working, so they make some great jewelry and trinkets to trade. Although, I may have stolen a few of these from Hook.” He grinned mischievously at the last part.

Hunk sighed from his position by the fire, flipping tortillas on the broad, flat cooking stone and occasionally stirring the contents of a pan hanging over the flames.

“What?” Lance asked defensively. “It’s Hook, Hunk. He only got them from stealing them himself!” Hunk didn’t answer but just rolled his eyes. Lance pouted as he set the table.

“Um,” Keith spoke. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yeah,” Hunk smiled kindly at him. “If you could go tell Pidge that dinner’s ready, that’d be great.”

Keith swallowed nervously. “Pidge?”

Lance laughed as he set the final cup down. “Don’t worry, they’re harmless. Well, okay, that’s a lie, but you’ll probably be fine…” He turned to Hunk. “Pidge was less than pleased that I brought someone new to the hideout,” he explained.

Hunk furrowed his brows. “You did make sure Keith wasn’t part of Captain Hook’s crew before bringing him here, right?”

“Of course I did!” Lance threw his arms up. “Why does everyone have so little faith in me around here?”

“Sure did,” Keith muttered. “You almost killed me!”

“What?!” Hunk exclaimed, causing Keith to jump. He thought he’d been speaking quietly enough that no one could hear him.

“Hey, it was just empty threats to scare him!” Lance said defensively.

“You held a dagger to my throat and dropped me out of the sky,” Keith pointed out.

“But I caught you again!”

“Not before scarring me for life!”

“That’s enough,” Hunk interrupted them. “Lance, you seriously need to work on your people skills.” Keith snorted at that.

“I have great people skills!” Lance feigned offence. “I have the princess of this island chasing my tail!”

“That’s what you think,” Hunk murmured.

“What was that?!”

“Nothing,” Hunk sighed. “Just go get Pidge, please.”

 

 

Like Hunk, Pidge stood before a large, blazing hearth, but despite being maybe half Hunk’s size, they looked much more intimidating silhouetted against the flames. There was a big work table in the room, and instead of herbs and pans hanging from the rafters there was a large assortment of tools that Keith felt could easily double as torture weapons. The entire room was built of stones, only adding to the torture-chamber feeling. As they approached, Pidge turned slightly to dip whatever they were working on in a bucket of water, and Keith caught a glimpse of the thick, intimidating goggles on their face.

“Quitting time!” Lance called out cheerfully. “Hunk’s made a feast!”

Pidge set what they were working on aside, pulled off their thick leather gloves and propped the goggles up on their forehead. When they turned around they caught sight of Keith standing meekly behind Lance, and they shot him a glare. Keith shrunk back a little.

Lance snorted. “And Hunk says I need to work on my people skills.”

“Are you planning on staying here?” Pidge asked Keith, ignoring Lance.

“No, um,” Keith fidgeted under their sharp gaze, “I’m just here for dinner.”

“Excellent,” Pidge said sarcastically, turning to Lance. “You brought a complete stranger over just for dinner.”

“He can stay if you’re really gonna miss him that much,” Lance joked. “We can have him share your room, since you seem to get along so well.”

“How about we put him in your room so you won’t get jealous without your pretty boy,” Pidge suggested, no emotion on their face or in their tone.

Keith and Lance both blushed. “Why would I get jealous!?” Lance exclaimed.

“I’m not his pretty boy!” Keith cried out at the same time as Lance.

Pidge smirked and raised their eyebrows, the first time Keith had seen them come close to a smile.

“B-besides,” Keith continued quickly. “I won’t be needing to share a room with anyone because I’m not staying here.”

“Planning on coming back?” Pidge asked, that same challenging tone in their voice.

Keith thought for a moment. Wherever this was, it was clearly far from America. And it’s not like he was allowed to leave the internment camp. There was no way he’d be able to get back here, even if he wanted to. 

“No,” he answered. Keith didn’t notice the hurt look on Lance’s face.

 

 

The dinner was one of the best Keith had ever had, and that was saying something since he grew up in his parent’s restaurant. It was some sort of fish, marinated in lemon and lime juices and rubbed down with salt and spices, cooked with sauteed garlic, onions, and peppers, all wrapped up in a tortilla with chopped tomatoes and lettuce. And it wasn’t just the food that was so great, but the company.

Despite Pidge’s harsh exterior, they softened when around Hunk and Lance. Although it was clear they still didn’t like Keith, they left him alone during the meal and instead all four of them talked and laughed and joked. They were all fascinated by Keith’s stories of the strange land of America, and Keith was utterly baffled that none of them had heard about the war that was currently going on in the world. He was even more surprised when Lance prattled off about mermaids and Hunk and Pidge took him completely seriously, even joining in. Then again, Lance could fly. Who knew what other weird things there were around here.

After dinner Lance and Pidge cleared the table and Hunk started to wash dishes in the basin. Unsure what to do, Keith cautiously approached Hunk and grabbed a plate off the stack, dipping it in the water.

“You don’t have to that,” Hunk smiled at him. “You’re a guest here.”

“I want to help,” Keith replied.

Hunk shrugged and moved over to give Keith more room. “It’s a shame you can’t stay longer,” he said. “It’s nice having company for once. Will you come back and visit? I’m sure Lance wouldn’t have any problem going to get you.”

“I don’t think I can,” Keith told him. “I have a lot of responsibilities back home.” He didn’t mention the fact that he wasn’t legally allowed to leave the internment camp, as it would raise more questions than he was comfortable answering. He didn’t even know how he was going to be able to sneak back in without getting shot. As much as he didn’t want to be trapped behind that barbed wire fence again, his family needed him. Or at least, what was left of it.

Keith turned to look Hunk in the eye, “Thank you for dinner,” he smiled. “It was like my old family dinners again.”

There was a glint of worry in Hunk’s eye, and Keith cursed himself for saying too much, but Hunk must have been able to tell Keith didn’t want to talk about it because he just smiled back. “No problem. Thank you for mysteriously appearing on the beach so that Lance could threaten you.”

Keith laughed. “Don’t expect me to do that favor again.”

“He laughs?!” Lance called as he walked over to them.

“Uh, yeah,” Keith said. “I was literally just laughing at the table with everyone all dinner.”

“I assumed that was peer pressure,” Lance responded.

“It’s not my fault I didn’t laugh before,” Keith said. “Your jokes are bad and trying to kill me doesn’t make them any funnier.”

“Again with the killing thing,” Lance sighed. “I was hoping we moved passed this. And, hey! My jokes are great!”

Before Keith could retort, Hunk cut in. “Alright, enough everybody. Lance, why don’t you make yourself useful and dry the dishes.” He tossed him a rag.

Lance did that dumb salute of his before going to work and Keith couldn’t help but crack a smile. He looked away immediately before Lance could see it, not wanting to give Lance the satisfaction of knowing that he had done something decently amusing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are my headcanons for the race/ethnicities of the characters:  
> -Lance is Latino  
> -Hunk is Hawaiian  
> -Pidge is German or has German ancestry  
> -Allura is Black  
> -Coran is British  
> -My Keith headcanon is actually Korean, but since he's brothers with Shiro in this work, I made him Japanese American  
> -Shiro is Japanese (in the case of this fic, Japanese American, but normally my head cannon is just Japanese for him)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a while. I got side-tracked with the holidays! Anyways, here it is! Enjoy :)

Keith had decided that he officially hated flying. Or, at least, he hated flying with Lance.

Hunk and Pidge stayed behind since Lance could only carry one person at a time and they needed to get there quickly. That meant Keith was the only one that had to suffer through Lance’s sudden dives and spins, pulling up just before they collided with the ground or shooting through narrow gaps in the tree branches.

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” Keith yelled as Lance narrowly avoided smashing into another tree, Keith’s arm getting scraped on one of its twigs. “If you don’t knock it off, I’m going to puke all over you!”

Lance looked down at him dubiously. “You’re under me, genius. You’d just puke all over the jungle.”

“Still wouldn’t be a pretty sight,” Keith replied.

Lance shrugged and mercifully slowed his pace. There was an awkward silence between them for a little while, during which Keith became uncomfortably aware of Lance’s arms wrapped around him, holding him up. However, to his relief, Lance broke the silence a few moments later.

“Why are you in such a hurry to get home, anyways?”

“I have school and a job that I’m missing right now,” Keith stated.

“Can’t you take a little break though?” Lance frowned. “I mean, you just got here. Or you could at least visit us after school.”

“I don’t have time,” Keith told him. “I start work right after school.” He still didn’t know how to explain that America was in all likelihood on the other side of the world from here, so even if you ignored all the many other reasons why Keith couldn’t just come and visit, there still was no way he’d ever be able to travel back here again.

“Why do you work so much?” Lance prodded further, pouting. “Don’t your parents have jobs?”

Keith fidgeted uncomfortably under him. “They, uh,” he began, concentrating just a little too intently on the jungle underneath them. “They aren’t allowed to take jobs for money.”

“What?” Lance asked. “That’s ridiculous! Why aren’t they?”

“It’s complicated,” Keith said flatly.

There was another moment of silence.

“Then maybe I, I mean, we could visit you sometimes?” Lance had a hopeful tone to his voice that made Keith’s insides ache slightly.

“That’s not possible,” Keith practically whispered.

“Why not?” Lance was definitely pouting now. “We’re not that bad, are we?”

“No!” Keith exclaimed hurriedly. “It’s not that! It’s just-” he sighed. “No one’s allowed to leave. I don’t even know how I ended up outside of that place alive-”

“What?!” Lance exclaimed. Keith cursed himself for saying too much. “What do you mean ‘alive’? And why can’t you leave? What the hell kind of place do you live in, exactly?”

“Not a good one,” Keith mumbled. He raised his voice to address Lance’s questions. “Look, I just don’t want to talk about it, alright? I shouldn’t have said all that anyways. I just need to get back.”

There was a frustrated huff from behind him, but Lance didn’t push any further.

Just then there was a break in the trees and suddenly the pair were soaring over open fields. Keith could just barely make out human forms working among the crops below them. The next moment the fields disappeared to be replaced by huts of branches and bark. Keith’s eyes widened at the sight. They really were a long way from America.

Lance set them down in the middle of the village. Immediately people began to emerge from the surrounding huts. Small children ran out from behind their parents and tackled Lance to the ground, knocking the breath out of him and crawling all over him in a fit of giggles. Keith stood there as the crowd grew larger and larger, shifting nervously as all eyes stared at him. Lance didn’t seem to mind all the attention, too busy wrestling with the children to even notice.

Just then the crowd parted as two people made their way to the front. The first was a woman, tall with dark skin like the rest of the villagers. Her hair was white and interwoven with shells and feathers, cascading down to her hips in waves and curls. She had a pink mark tattooed underneath each of her eyes, and more pale pink tattoos covering her arms and legs. She was adorned with jewelry made out of shells and beads, and she wore a dark blue dress with golden trim. The woman’s gaze held strength and power, and those around her bowed their heads as she passed.

The second was a man who seemed slightly out of place among the other natives due to is pale skin and fiery red hair. However, he was adorned with similar tattoos and jewelry, and wore a dark blue garment like the woman in front of him. He had a thick, finely pointed mustache, and there was a sort of humorous sparkle in his blue eyes. Even so, he was just as serious and formal as the woman at this moment, and he stood by her side upon reaching the edge of the crowd.

“Lance,” the woman called out.

Lance looked up from the pile of squirming children. “Princess!” He grinned, struggling to stand. He made his way over to her, the majority of the children still clinging onto his legs or dangling from his arms. “Missed me?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

The princess’s expression didn’t change from her serious look, but several of the people around them groaned or rolled their eyes.

“Who is this stranger you’ve brought?” She asked Lance, pointing to Keith. Keith shifted a bit when he noticed several burly looking people nearby tense up, as if preparing to attack him. “I’ve told you before, the village isn’t your own private prison for Hook’s crew.”

“He’s not one of Hook’s crew,” Lance informed her. “He’s a stranger to this island.” The princess looked unimpressed by this explanation. Lance beckoned Keith closer and he approached them cautiously, stepping around the children that were now fiercely combating Lance’s ankles. He jumped slightly when Lance slung an arm carelessly across his shoulders. “This is Keith. Keith, this is Princess Allura, and these lovely people are the Alteans.”

There were some kind smiles and waves throughout the crowd, and Keith waved nervously back. He was surprised to see the serious woman before him smile too, placing a hand on his shoulder in greeting. “Hello, Keith,” she said. “I am Tiger Lily of the Alteans, but as Lance has already introduced me so informally,” she shot Lance a slight glare, “you may call me Allura.”

The man next to her extended his hand and Keith took it. “The name’s Coran,” the man beamed warmly at him. “Chief adviser to the princess. Would you care to take this discussion indoors?”

Keith nodded gratefully, eager to be away from all the curious stares.

“Right this way,” Allura spoke up, turning and leading them back through the crowd. Coran helped Lance separate himself from the children before following the princess. Several people from the crowd called out Lance’s name as they passed, and Lance exchanged warm greetings with them, smiling and chatting.

However, they were soon enveloped in the shade of a large hut, curtains swinging closed to block out the outside world. There was a fire pit in the center, and an assortment of wooden furniture. Keith sat in the chair indicated to him by the princess, directly across from her. Coran sat beside her and Lance took a seat next to Keith.

“Now,” Allura spoke up. “What brings you to my village?”

“I, um.” Now that he thought about it, Keith wasn’t really sure how to explain his situation. “I need to get back to my home and I was hoping that maybe you could help.”

Allura nodded thoughtfully. “My people do have connections to the merchant ships that sail between the islands. Which island do you live on?”

“It’s some place called Amica,” Lance chimed in.

“America,” Keith corrected, “and it’s not exactly an island.”

Coran and Allura exchanged blank looks. “I’m not familiar with this America,” Allura told him. “However, Coran has many maps and charts. Perhaps he can find it on one of those.”

“I was a merchant before I joined the Alteans,” Coran beamed proudly. “I’ve traveled to all kinds of places! I’m sure I’ll have it on one of these maps.” He crossed over to a large trunk and opened it, beginning to rummage through its papers.

“It may be a little difficult to find a ship that’ll take you there,” Allura informed Keith. “Since it sounds like America isn’t near here, you might have to travel on several different ships to reach it.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have an airport on one of these islands, would you?” Keith asked. He got his answer from the confused looks he received. “Never mind,” he mumbled.

This was very bad. He was the breadwinner of his family. How were his parents going to get by without him for the several months it would take him to sail back home? He dug his fingernails into the arms of his chair. ‘Just calm down,’ Keith told himself. ‘The neighbors will take care of them. The community took care of all the parents who lost their children to the war. They won’t let my family starve.’

“Any luck, Coran?” Lance called over to the man, still furiously rummaging in the trunk.

“None yet,” he answered. “But I’m sure it’s here somewhere!”

“How did you come to be on this island anyways?” Allura asked. He could sense a slight tone of suspicion in her voice, although she was still perfectly friendly and hospitable on the surface.

“I’m not really sure,” Keith answered truthfully. “I just woke up on the beach.”

“He was out cold,” Lance chimed in. “I splashed water on him!”

“You have no idea how you got here?” Allura questioned. She had the same friendly smile, but her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied Keith’s face.

“None,” Keith sighed. Just then it dawned on him. He didn’t have any memory of coming here, so exactly how long had he been unconscious? If he had been dropped off here by plane it would’ve only taken a few days, but if what if whoever had brought him here did so by boat? That would mean he would’ve been passed out for months, or else on some severe drug that caused extreme memory impairment. How the hell did the people that brought him here get him passed the barbed wire and armed guards of the internment camp? And why? What was the point in bringing him out into the middle of the ocean? Why was it worth all the effort it must have taken? And where were his kidnappers now? Keith had been so worried about getting home that he hadn’t stopped to consider how or why he had gotten here in the first place.

“Are you alright?” Lance’s voice cut into his thoughts. Keith shook himself and looked up to see that everyone in the hut was staring at him with concerned looks. Lance reached out to touch his shoulder comfortingly and Keith flinched back, taken by surprise. Lance immediately removed his hand, leaving Keith with a pang of regret.

“I’m fine,” Keith smiled weakly. “Just- just tired. It’s been a long and confusing day.”

“The sun is setting soon,” Allura spoke up. “And its too late to find a merchant ship to take you today. You should get some rest.”

“I might need the extra time to find this America place anyways,” Coran called from over by the trunk. “I’m not sure why it’s so difficult. But worry not, I’ll find it yet! I have maps of all the seven seas!”

“You can stay with us tonight!” Lance grinned, trying and failing to hide his excitement.

“Yeah, okay,” Keith nodded gratefully.

“It’s settled then.” Allura stood up. “Come back for breakfast tomorrow and we’ll see about getting Keith home. Until then, have a goodnight.”

Coran beamed from over by the trunk. “Yes, have a goodnight you two. It was nice to meet you, Keith!”

“Nice to meet you,” Keith smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Any chance I can get a goodnight kiss?” Lance winked at Allura.

Keith felt a dull pang in his chest and he instinctively glared at Lance. Wait,what was that reaction just then? He didn’t care who Lance flirted with. He could do whatever the hell he wanted.

“Lance,” Allura responded, eyes blazing. “The only thing you’ll be kissing is the ground if you aren’t out of my sight by the next tick.”

“Got it, gone,” Lance finger gunned in the direction of the door before hurrying out it, pulling Keith along with him.

“I can walk myself, you know,” Keith snapped, flustered by his strange reaction to Lance’s flirting.

Lance grinned. “But you can’t fly yourself!” He spun Keith around and hugged him close to his chest. For a moment Keith didn’t understand what he was doing and his breath caught in his throat. Next thing he knew they were in the air. Keith’s heart beat relaxed again, or at least as much as it could when you’re that far from solid ground.

He yawned as they sped back towards the hideout. Even though he had used being tired as an excuse back there, he really was feeling sleepy.

 

 

Keith would be sleeping in Lance’s room for the night. Pidge obviously didn’t want to bunk with him, and Lance had already declared he’d allow Keith to share his room before Hunk had a chance to offer, so it was decided. Hunk did supply some extra blankets and a pillow, however. He helped set up a makeshift bed on the floor of Lance’s room before he wished the two of them goodnight.

Lance was in the bathroom down the hall washing his face when Keith plopped down on the blankets, barely able to keep his eyes open. He sighed. There was so much he didn’t know, and none of it made sense. How must his mother feel with her son missing? Did she think she’d lost another child?

“What do you think you’re doing?” A voice interrupted Keith’s thoughts, making him jump. He turned to see Lance leaning in the doorway, frowning at him.

“Um, going to sleep?” Keith answered, confused.

“Not on the floor you're not,” Lance said. “Guests sleep in the bed.”

“Since when have you cared about being a good host?” Keith raised his eyebrows.

“Hey! I’ve been a great host! You weren’t at my house when I tried to kill you so that doesn’t count.”

Keith scoffed, but he got up as Lance made shooing motions. “You sure about this?” he asked. “I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”

“Well I do mind,” Lance joked. “Now be a good guest, shut up, and get to bed already.”

Keith sat down on the bed, still feeling a little bit awkward at the thought of sleeping in Lance’s bed. Lance didn’t seem to mind what so ever, as he threw himself dramatically down on the blankets on the floor, crawling under them. “Could you get the light?”

“Yeah,” Keith said instinctively. He looked around for a light switch but instead saw that the room’s light was coming from an old fashioned oil lantern. He approached it uncertainly. “Uh, how do you turn this off, exactly?”

Lance sighed. “Do you all just see by a campfire’s light in Amita or something?”

“America,” Keith rolled his eyes. “And no, not exactly.”

“There’s a small knob on the side,” Lance instructed him. “Turn it and the light’ll go out.”

Keith located the knob and did what he was told. Sure enough, the room was thrown into darkness, and Keith was left to stumble his way back to the bed.

“Ow!” Lance yelped. “That’s my face, Keith!”

“Sorry!” Keith hissed, finally collapsing onto the mattress. Right then something grabbed his ankle and he screeched. Lance cackled from somewhere in the dark. “You asshole,” Keith growled, kicking out blindly.

“Ow, fuck!”

“This time I’m not sorry!”

“I’m really regretting that nice host thing now,” Lance smirked.

“Too late!” Keith buried himself beneath the blankets in triumph.

There was a pause.

“Keith?” Lance spoke up.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

Keith wasn’t sure what to say. Finally he replied with, “Thank you.”

“Do you really want to go home that badly?” Lance asked.

Keith thought for a moment. “Honestly, no. This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

“Then why’re you in such a hurry to leave?” Lance sounded kind of upset.

“It’s a long story,” Keith mumbled.

“We’ve got all night,” Lance pointed out.

“Maybe you do, but I actually want to sleep.” There was silence. Keith fidgeted uncomfortably, not sure what to say. Finally he spoke up. “Goodnight, Lance.”

“Goodnight, Keith.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason Keith is the breadwinner of his family is because immigrants that came from Japan to America (the Issei generation) were not allowed to work paying jobs in the internment camps. Only their children, who had been born in America and thus were American citizens (the Nisei generation), were allowed to work for wages. However, Keith's mother likes to help out and always be active, so she uses her experiences from helping run the family restaurant to volunteer in the camp mess hall.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! A little more of the mystery is unraveled!

“Keith, wake up.”

Keith groaned, swatting at the hand on his shoulder. “Go away, Lance.”

“What? Who’s Lance?”

Keith’s eyes shot open as he recognized the voice of his mother. He stared around him, bewildered. Sure enough, he was back in their tiny living quarters, early morning light peeking through the window.

“Mom!” Keith cried out, flinging his arms around her and almost knocking her over.

“Keith, be careful!” she scolded, although the older woman returned his embrace. “What’s gotten into you?”

Keith sat back, letting it all sink in. So last night really had been a dream. A strange, intensely real dream. He could still remember the sand beneath his feet on the beach, the taste of Hunk’s delicious food, and wind in his face as he and Lance flew over the jungle… Lance. So Lance had really been nothing more than a part of his dream. Keith laughed humorlessly, not sure why he felt so disappointed.

“It’s nothing, mom,” he spoke up. “Just a strange dream.”

“Not another nightmare,” his mother sighed, stroking Keith’s hair comfortingly.

Keith flinched. He had been so shocked and distracted throughout the weird dream that he hadn’t thought of Shiro once. “No,” Keith said softly. “It was a good dream.”

His mother smiled down at him. “I’m glad to hear it. If you won’t have fun while you’re awake you at least deserve to have fun asleep. But hurry now, you must get ready for school.”

 

 

Keith’s relief at being back home was very short lived. Before he had always found himself sullenly content with his daily routine, welcoming the simple repetition and distraction of hard work that kept his mind from reality. Now he found himself restless, barely able to pay attention throughout his classes. If only that dream had been real! A new reality for him to face. One that didn’t involve the cold chain link fence that literally encircled his life. This Neverland was free of the terrible war that had stolen his brother, free of the empty shell that had once been his father, free of the prison he resided in. It’s name was truly fitting, as if all of these awful things had never happened.

For the first time ever, Keith got in trouble at his job for day dreaming so much, spacing out to the point that he accidentally shocked himself with a worn-out wire he was mending. His superior had yelled at him to be more careful. A single spark could set the whole camp ablaze, after all. They had so little as it was, there was no way they could recover from a fire.

Keith was on his way home after getting a late dinner at the mess hall when he heard someone calling his name. He turned and saw an old friend heading towards him, waving. His instincts told him to turn and walk away, just as he had for the past year. He’d lost all interest in friends the day he lost his best friend. But there was something in the way the boy smiled that made Keith pause. His smile was warm and bright, just like the smile Lance had given him in his dream.

“Heading home?” the boy, Hiroto, asked. Keith nodded numbly. “Me too! I just got off work at the shop. Mrs. Yoshida had me stay late tonight to help roll rice balls. She’s going to sell them as a treat tomorrow for anyone attending the band concert in the park.”

Again Keith nodded, not really sure what to say.

Hiroto paused for a moment, studying Keith’s face. “You know, you look different today. You look- better? I don’t know how to describe it. But it’s good.”

Keith turned to look at the boy for the first time. “I won’t be better, Hiroto,” he smiled sadly. No, this feeling wouldn’t last. Neverland had only been a dream. Soon it would fade away, just like everything else had. The only thing Keith had left was the war. The terrible war that had cost him his brother, and the war that would give him his only chance to make the world pay for taking Shiro from him.

“No!” Hiroto waved his hand apologetically. “That’s not what I meant, I just-”

“It’s okay,” Keith told him. “You’re right. I am a bit different today. It just won’t last long.”

Keith turned to continue walking home, leaving Hiroto staring sadly after him.

“Goodnight, Keith,” Hiroto called.

Keith paused before murmuring, “Goodnight, Hiroto.”

 

 

Keith sighed in relief as he wrote down the last answer on his homework. Despite his distracted mind he had forced himself to get through it, catching up from where he’d left off yesterday.

“Keith, I’m going to go next door and help the Fujita’s get ready for bed. Could you make sure your father gets to sleep?” Keith’s mother stood at the doorway, pulling her coat on for the short trek to the door leading to the other side of their barrack.

“Of course,” Keith smiled reassuringly at her. She smiled back before heading out.

Keith put his homework away slowly, careful not to look in the direction of his father. Finally, he got up and approached his dad, sitting in his usual chair. “It’s time to go to bed, dad.”

The elderly man gave no sign he had heard. Keith sighed and reached out, pulling on his arm. The man stood on his own without further prompting, but Keith had to guide him over to his parents’ bed, his father’s eyes still blank and faraway. Keith helped the man wash his face then laid out his pajamas for him. His father dressed himself, and Keith guided him down into his bed, tucking him in like a small child.

“Goodnight dad,” Keith said, knowing he wouldn’t get a response.

He turned and headed over to his own bed, getting ready to sleep himself. Once he was situated under the covers, Keith stretched and yawned. A deep pang resonated in his chest when his outstretched arms hit empty space. This bed really was too small for only one person. But it was the world that had decided it was too small for Shiro, and it was the world that Keith was going to make pay.

He glowered at the wall next to him. No more happy dreams about islands and flying. He needed to devote his entire existence to the war. Only a little longer, and he could avenge Shiro. Only a little longer and he could fight in the name of the country that had torn his family apart. But it was the only country he’d ever known, and he would give every part of himself to prove that it had been wrong to lock him away. No matter what, he was going to leave this barbed wire fence behind. But most importantly, no matter what, the enemy that had slaughtered Shiro was going to bleed by Keith’s own two hands. 

 

 

“Keith, wake up.”

Keith groaned. Wasn’t today Saturday? “There’s no school today, mom,” he mumbled, pulling the blankets up.

“Of course, sweetie,” a comically high-pitched voice grated against his ears. “But you kept me up all night giving birth to your fat ass so there’s no way I’m going to let you sleep.”

“What?!” Keith gasped, sitting up. This wasn’t his home. And that grinning maniac in the stupid hat certainly wasn’t his mother. “Lance?!”

“The one and only,” Lance grinned. “Now hurry up or we’ll be late for breakfast.”

Keith just sat there, gaping at him.

“Okay, so I get that I’m gorgeous and all, but you need to learn to be a bit more subtle,” Lance teased.

“What?” Keith asked. “No, I-”

“You’re blushing,” Lance smirked.

“Shut up!” Keith snapped. “What the hell are you doing here? I mean, what the hell am I doing here?”

“Um, hello?” Lance replied. “Mysteriously showed up on the beach, rescued by yours truly-”

“Rescued?!” Keith scoffed.

“Don’t interrupt. Brought back to my humble abode, met a princess, brought back to said abode once more, graciously allowed to sleep in my bed. Sound familiar?”

“Well, yeah, but that was just a dream,” Keith said.

Lance sighed. “This is a common mistake people make. I get that I’m a total dreamboat, but-”

“No, Lance,” Keith interrupted. “Seriously. This is just a dream. I’m dreaming.”

Lance gave him a concerned look. “You feeling alright, mullet?”

Keith slumped back down in the bed and covered his eyes, bursting into hysterical laughter.

“Okay, you’re really starting to freak me out,” Lance spoke up.

“Don’t you get it?” Keith cackled. “You’re not real!”

“Yeah, so that’s really not helping with the whole freaking me out thing,” Lance frowned. He placed hand on Keith’s forehead. “Are you running a fever?”

Keith froze at Lance’s touch. His hand felt so real. Like it was really there, pressed against his skin. Keith grabbed it suddenly and Lance jumped. “This is incredible!”

“It’s just a hand,” Lance told him. “You have two of your own.”

“But it feels like a hand is really right here,” Keith exclaimed.

“Yep,” Lance nodded. “I’m pretty sure my hand is really right there.”

“I can’t believe it,” Keith murmured, not paying attention to anything Lance was saying. He played with each one of the boy’s fingers, transfixed. Lance went steadily red, looking away.

“Uh, Keith?” Lance asked.

“Hmm?”

“Can I have my hand back now?”

“No.”

“No?”

Keith was looking quizzically at Lance’s palm, tracing the lines. Suddenly he bent down and licked it.

“Woah, okay!” Lance yelped, snatching his hand away, his face now hopelessly crimson. “That is definitely a thing that just happened!”

“I can’t believe how real this feels,” Keith said, still not paying attention to Lance. “I’ve never had a dream like this before in my life! Well, I guess I had one last night, but-”

“Hi,” Lance cut in, waving his hand in front of Keith’s face until he finally looked back at him. “The name’s Lance. We’ve met before. So, um, have you always been this crazy, or-?”

“I’m not crazy,” Keith scoffed. “This is crazy!” He gestured around him.

“No,” Lance shook his head. “This is a perfectly normal underground hideout room. Which, might I add, is very real. You, my mullet friend, are crazy.”

“I even still need to breath,” Keith mumbled. He turned to Lance and raised his voice. “Look! I’m blinking!”

“And we’re all very proud,” Lance responded, “but can we focus on the issue at hand? Why are you so convinced that you’re dreaming to the point that you literally licked my hand? Which is a thing you just did, by the way. You know, in case you forgot.”

“Because I woke up!” Keith exclaimed.

“Uh huh,” Lance nodded slowly. “And you’ve been babbling about dreaming ever since.”

“No!” Keith shook his head. “I woke up back home! You know, in America. And I’d never even been gone! My mom just woke me up like every day and I went to school and work.”

“Maybe that was the dream,” Lance raised his eyebrows.

“No,” Keith shook his head again.

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because I’ve lived my whole life back there. I only just woke up here yesterday- um, I mean last night I guess?”

“Keith,” Lance began. “You were definitely right here last night. I know because I woke up in the middle of it and considered giving you a decent hair cut while you were still sleeping.”

“Of course I was here last night!” Keith grinned, ignoring Lance’s remark. “I was asleep and dreaming of this place!”

Lance paused and thought over what Keith had just said. “Okay, so I’m not sure we’re on the same page here but if we keep arguing we’ll be late for our double date with Allura and Coran. I’ve got dibs on Allura, by the way.”

“But I don’t need to try to find my way home anymore,” Keith smiled.

“Wait-” Lance paused. “You mean you’re not leaving?”

“What would be the point?” Keith laughed. “I can just stay here until I wake up!”

Lance grinned and threw his arms around Keith. Keith just sat there for a moment stunned. Lance then began to pull back, feeling slightly awkward, but Keith reached out and pulled him back, returning his hug. Lance smiled and rested his head on the other boy’s shoulder contently. Keith couldn’t help but think that it really wasn’t okay just how real Lance felt against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith's mother always helps the elderly couple next door. Though of course, it has to do with the goodness of her heart, it also has to do with a Japanese custom of honoring one's elders. This custom was commonly practiced in the first generation (the Issei) when they immigrated over to Japan, but was largely lost in the second generation (the Nisei) as they adopted American customs of spending more time with friends and less with family. That's why Keith's mother is the one largely looking after them rather than their own children: She is of the Isei generation and she still respects the custom of taking care of your elders.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that Pidge is a little rough around the edges at times. They're just fiercely loyal and protective of their friends! Feel free to leave a comment if you like my story ^_^

“I’m afraid we have some bad news,” Allura spoke grimly as Keith and Lance took their seats on the edge of an intricately woven rug. A dish of roasted cassava lay in the middle for their breakfast, wrapped in banana leaves. Allura poured four cups of palm wine and passed one to each of their guests.

“I wasn’t able to locate America on any of the maps,” Coran told them, his brow furrowed.

“Actually, we have some good news!” Lance beamed, taking a sip of the wine.

“Oh?” Allura asked, surprised by the two’s excitement. “And what is that?”

“I’ve already went home!” Keith smiled.

Lance face-palmed as Allura and Coran gave them confused looks. “What he means is he’s no longer trying to get home.”

“What?” Allura spoke out. “Why?”

“Because I already got back home,” Keith told her, shooting Lance a glare. “This place is all just a dream! That’s why I woke up here with no explanation! I’m actually asleep in my bed back home right now, dreaming about here.”

This time Allura and Coran exchanged concerned looks.

“Perhaps,” Coran said, taking Keith’s cup from him just before he could take his first sip, “you should be drinking something milder. I’ll fetch some water.”

Keith looked around to see everyone in the hut giving him strange looks. “I’m not crazy!” he said indignantly. “It’s the only thing that makes sense! How else did I just suddenly appear here? And then I just woke up at home again. I only found myself back here when I went to sleep.”

“No,” Lance shook his head. “This really isn’t making sense to me. “

“What doesn’t make sense is that you can fly!” Keith scoffed, getting increasingly defensive under all the concerned stares. “Or that mermaids are a thing, apparently? None of that’s possible in the real world. It’s only happening right now because I’m dreaming all of it!”

“Oh, mermaids are definitely real,” Coran said thoughtfully. “I’ve seen many on my voyages.”

Allura nodded. “I’ve run into some before when I was out fishing in our canoes.”

“I can take you to see the mermaids if you’d like,” Lance smiled kindly, as if he was offering an upset child a piece of candy.

“Forget the damn mermaids!” Keith snapped, his frustration only growing. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you all. None of you are real anyways!”

“I’m not real?”

Keith’s eyes widened at the harsh tone, and he turned to see Lance glaring dangerously at him. His voice was quiet now, almost a whisper, but it was laced with venom.

“So I don’t even exist?”

Keith fidgeted nervously under his fierce gaze, not sure why Lance’s mood had changed so quickly. “Look, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just stating the truth.”

“The truth?!” Lance spat. “The truth is that you’ve lost your goddamn mind! Just because you don’t understand how you got here doesn’t mean you can pretend we don’t exist!”  
“If you want to believe that this is real then-”

“You’re the one here that’s unbelievable!” Lance was practically yelling now.

Coran and Allura seemed at a loss as they watched the scene unfold before them, wanting to intervene but not sure how to.

“Whatever!” Keith yelled. “This is all pointless!”

“So even talking to me is pointless now?!” Lance snarled back.

“Yeah, maybe it is!”

Lance got up and stormed out of the hut, leaving the cassavas untouched. Keith followed him angrily, Allura and Coran staring after them.

“Where are you going?” Keith snapped.

“Away from you!” Lance yelled back, floating up into the air.

“Hey!” Keith called out. “I don’t know how to get back to the hideout!”

“Then why don’t you try flying after me? If this is just a dream, how come you can’t fly?”

Keith paused for a moment. He hadn’t actually tried to fly yet, had he? He closed his eyes, concentrating all his effort into envisioning himself floating off the ground. He pictured himself soaring into the air, grinning triumphantly as Lance gaped at him. Nothing happened.

“You’re pathetic,” Lance growled. With that he turned and flew away, leaving Keith behind.

“Yeah, well fuck you too!” Keith yelled after him, boiling over with rage. It was only then that Keith became aware of all the eyes on him. Several villagers had peeked their heads out of the nearby huts to see what all the commotion was. Allura and Coran stood over by the entryway to their hut as well. The princess crossed over to Keith and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“I can’t give you directions to the hideout since I don’t know where it is,” she said sympathetically.

“The point of a hideout is to be hidden, after all,” Coran pointed out.

“But you are welcome to stay here, at least for the night,” Allura continued. “I’m afraid I’ll have to keep you under watch, though. You are still a stranger after all, and I must have the safety of my people in mind.”

Keith flinched. He could tell from her tone that she thought he was crazy too, just like Lance. Besides, he was already under constant watch by the camp guards when he was awake. There was no way he was going to let that happen in his own dreams, too. He may not be able to fly, but he was still given a choice here, and it was clear which answer he wanted.

“No thank you,” Keith smiled, trying to hide his bitterness. “I’ll be fine on my own. I’ll wake up in a few hours anyways.”

“Are you sure?” Coran asked. “I could keep an eye on you myself.”

“I don’t need to be watched,” Keith snapped, dropping his polite guise. He turned and began to walk away.

“Keith!” Allura called after him. “Night in the jungle can be treacherous!”

“I won’t be in the jungle at night,” Keith called over his shoulder. “I’ll be awake and away from this nonsense!” With that, he disappeared into the trees.

Coran eyed Allura warily. “Should I go after him?” he asked.

Allura shook her head. “He’s not one of our own. I don’t see the point in sending people to look after a delusional stranger throwing a tantrum. Besides, Lance will calm down eventually. He seems fond of this boy. I’m sure he won’t let him spend the night alone out there.”

 

 

Keith kicked a twig angrily out of his way as he crawled through the vines and arching roots of the jungle floor. Flying was so much easier than trying to navigate this place. His stomach growled and he realized that he hadn't gotten a chance to eat the food offered to them. Stupid Lance! And stupid dream! Why did this dream have to feel so real? There was very real anger coursing through Keith’s veins right now, and all because of a fictional fight with a figment of his imagination.

Who knew a fake dream person could get so upset over being told they were in a dream? Keith cursed as he stubbed his toe on a root. Real pain. What the hell was wrong with this dream? It was true that it was absolutely ridiculous how real everything felt, but this truly was the only explanation. People did not fly. Mermaids did not exist. And notorious pirates didn’t sail the seven seas with their eye patches and peg legs, or at least not anymore. No matter how angry Lance got at the prospect of not being real, the fact was that he simply wasn’t.

Keith sighed and slumped against a tree. It’s not like he enjoyed knowing this was a dream. He would’ve loved for this to be real. For there to really be a princess and her retired mariner adviser ruling over a tribe on a distant tropical island, far from the barbed wire fence of the internment camp. For there to be a flying boy in tights laughing and taking Keith to some secret hideout with Hunk’s warm smile and Pidge’s- Well Pidge still didn’t exactly like him. But then, Lance didn’t seem to like him anymore either. Keith sighed, covering his face with his hands. Perhaps he should’ve just shut up about the whole not real thing. It’s not like everyone else needed to know. And if he had, he would’ve been back in Allura and Coran’s hut, eating that strange but delicious looking vegetable with Lance.

Suddenly a pair of hands reached out and clamped over his mouth. Keith tried to pull away but more hands grabbed his wrists, holding them in place. Keith thrashed around desperately, his calls for help silenced by the hand pressed painfully against his jaw.

“I don’t recognize you,” a low voice growled. “But you’re definitely not an Altean. Do you think he’s a Lost Boy?”

“Where are they getting new people from?” a second voice asked.

“Maybe he’s a merchant that wandered a little too far from his ship.” This third stranger had a gleeful menace in their tone that made Keith shiver.

“There aren’t any merchant ships near here,” the first voice said. “We scouted the waters before coming ashore.”

“Why are we stopping to gather provisions on this island anyways?”

“What?” the third stranger scoffed. “Scared of some flying kid and his friends?”

The three people were so engrossed in their conversation that the one covering Keith’s mouth had let his guard down. Keith bit down hard and the man yelped in pain, pulling his hand away.

“Help!” Keith screamed. “Someone, help m-”

His cry was interrupted when something heavy and blunt connected with the back of his skull. Keith collapsed to the jungle floor, head swimming with pain and vision blacking out.

“That reminds me,” a far off voice said as Keith fought to remain conscious. “What are we gonna do with this kid?”

“Take him to Captain Hook.”

That was the last thing Keith heard before his world went blank.

 

 

“Where’s Keith?” Hunk asked as Lance sauntered into the kitchen. Hunk was just putting away the remains of his and Pidge’s breakfast while Pidge stood at the sink, washing dishes.

“Maybe getting eaten by a snake, I don’t know,” Lance muttered as he sat down at the table. “Leave that out, Hunk, I haven’t eaten yet.”

“A snake?!” Hunk asked, alarmed.

“I’m just kidding,” Lance sighed, munching on a slice of papaya. 

“I thought you and he were having breakfast at Tiger Lily’s?” Hunk asked, his brows knit together.

“I left before I ate anything.”

“What? Why?”

Lance sighed again, glaring at the plate of eggs and rice before him. “He’s gone off the deep end, Hunk. I don’t know how he managed it, but he basically went insane over night and is claiming that nothing around him is real.”

“So you just left him?” Hunk sounded concerned.

“He said I didn’t exist!” Lance snapped. “How would you feel if some asshole just walked up to you and said you aren’t real? It’s like saying you don’t even matter.”

“Lance-” Hunk began.

“He even said it was pointless to talk to me because ‘I’m not real’! So yeah, I left his ass there. He’s Allura and Coran’s problem now.” Lance heard a snicker and he turned to shoot a glare at Pidge. “What’s your problem?” he snapped.

“I knew there was something off about him,” Pidge cackled. “I just didn’t realize he was completely off his rocker! This is just perfect! Not only did you bring a complete stranger to our hideout, but you brought a mentally unstable one too!” Pidge’s laugh was dry and humorless, making Lance wince.

“So what?!” Lance snarled. “If anything he’s even less of a danger to us since he thinks he’s in la la land or whatever.”

“Oh, really?” Pidge stopped laughing, but there was still a sinister grin on their face. “If nothing is real then there are no consequences, Lance. What if he wanted to stab you, hmm? It’s okay, right? After all, he’s not killing a real person. It’s just pretend.”

“Keith wouldn’t stab me,” Lance spat.

“Aren’t you the one who just said he’s nuts,” Pidge pointed out.

“Delusional nuts,” Lance growled. “Not psychotic maniac nuts.”

“Are we forgetting something here?” Hunk spoke up. “Because if I’m hearing this right, we just abandoned someone with no concept of reality in the middle of the jungle.”

“He wasn’t in the middle of the jungle, he was with Allura,” Lance told him.

“Is that better?” Hunk asked. “I mean, Tiger Lily’s great and all, but I doubt she’s going to trust some stranger you dumped on her. She’d probably force him to stay in the holding cell or something.”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” Pidge grumbled. “At least someone on this island has some sense.

Lance frowned, thinking about Hunk’s words.

“Look, I know we just met him,” Hunk continued, “and he’s kind of confused right now. But that boy that stayed here last night seemed genuinely scared that he was so far from home. Is it really fair for him to be alone twice?”

Lance sighed, pushing his untouched plate away. “I hate that you're always right.”

“Someone has to be,” Hunk smiled kindly.

“You better have a big lunch prepared when me and mullet-head get back,” Lance said as he rose from the table.

“Already planning on it,” Hunk reassured him. “Pidge, you go with him.”

“What?!” Pidge jerked around. “Why do I have to come? Isn’t he just picking the brat up from the princess’s daycare?”

“He might not be there,” Hunk frowned. “If you were gonna be locked up, wouldn’t you run away? Lance might need help finding him.”

Lance fidgeted uncomfortably. He was feeling worse and worse about leaving Keith behind.

“Fine,” Pidge snarled, rounding on Lance. “But once we get your stupid boyfriend back, you owe me.”

“Wha-?!” Lance started to protest, only to be cut off by Pidge shoving their dishrag in his furiously blushing face. Pidge was already down the hall when Lance got it off. He stared angrily at his feet as he tossed the rag back to Hunk, refusing to acknowledge his friend’s amused grin.

“Later,” Lance mumbled, deciding to have some words with Pidge once he caught up to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes on Food:
> 
> -The dinner that Keith had with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge is Latino  
> -The cassava dish and palm wine offered to Lance and Keith is South African  
> -Hunk and Pidge's breakfast of fresh fruit with eggs and rice is a common Hawaiian breakfast


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to view my work ^_^ And thank you especially to those who left a kudos or comment. The comments always brighten my day!

“We offered to let him stay here, but he walked off,” Coran told Lance and Pidge, looking concerned.

“And you let him?!” Lance exclaimed.

Allura spoke up. “He was given a choice and he chose to leave. I knew you would come back for him eventually.”

“And you couldn’t get him to stay put for when I came back?”

“Like I said,” Coran continued, “we offered, but he didn’t seem comfortable at the thought of being under watch.”

“Well, someone has to watch him whether he likes it or not,” Lance huffed in frustration. “Otherwise he’s gonna wander off a cliff or get carried off by a bunch of bees or-”

“Bees?” Pidge raised their eyebrows.

“It could happen!” Lance snapped. “Remember that time I brought Hunk honey? Never again. He wants honey, he can get it from the merchants.”

Pidge rolled their eyes and turned to address Allura. “Could you please point us in the direction he went, princess?”

“Of course,” Allura nodded. She gestured towards the treeline. “He headed off that way. I warned him about the danger of the jungle at night, but he’s still adamant that this is all a dream that he’ll wake from.”

Lance grit his teeth at that.

“Thank you,” Pidge bowed their head slightly. “Luckily, we still have the whole day to find him.” They shot a glare at Lance for not simply bringing Keith back with him in the first place.

“Goodluck,” Coran said.

Lance considered shooting a last minute pick up line at Allura, but he was too focused on thoughts of Keith to come up with any. Instead he settled for a wink and a wave as he and Pidge headed in the direction the princess had indicated.

“You know,” Lance said as the trees engulfed them. “If the bees haven’t gotten Keith yet, I just might sacrifice him to them. It'd be a good way to appease their blood grudge against me from the honey incident.” He paused and took a deep breath, cupping his hands around his mouth. “KEEEEITH!”

Pidge jumped at Lance’s sudden yell. “And I might sacrifice you both to them!” They snarled, covering their ears.

Lance ignored their remark. “Come on, you yell too.”

“Why? If he’s anywhere near here I’m sure he can hear you just fine.”

“Come on, Pidge,” Lance pleaded. “Hunk sent you to help me.”

“I don’t find rupturing my eardrums very helpful,” Pidge retorted.

“That is it!” Lance huffed. “As soon as we find mullet, everyone’s getting bees! Except Hunk, he’s an angel.”

Pidge smiled at that. “We certainly couldn’t survive without him. Although he is the reason I’m out here-”

“No,” Lance interrupted. “Keith’s the reason you’re out here. Speaking of which- KEEEEEEITH!”

Pidge clapped their hands over their ears again, wincing. “You know, I just had a great idea!” they spoke up.

“What?” Lance turned to them.

“How about you fly around and keep screaming. That way you can cover more distance. I’ll stay down here and look for any signs that might tell us which way he went.”

“That is a good idea!” Lance beamed. “See you in a bit!” He leaped into the air and soared off, leaving behind nothing but his fading voice as he screamed out Keith’s name once more. Pidge let out a sigh of relief. They considered just leaning against a tree until Lance got back, but instead they took a reluctant step forward and began to scan the underbrush. After all, the sooner they found Keith, the sooner they could continue their day.

It wasn’t that hard to locate Keith’s trail. There was a clear path of bent leaves and snapped branches, left behind by someone who clearly didn’t know how to navigate the jungle. Pidge pushed their glasses up and started following it.

At first Pidge didn’t notice the blood. They were an amateur at best when it came to tracking, plus the shade from the treetops made it hard to distinguish such tiny droplets. They finally took note when a particularly large drop appeared on a clump of moss, its bright red color illuminated by the patch of sunlight that fell on it. Pidge narrowed their eyes and looked around. There were more, smaller splatters leading in both directions. However, that wasn’t all. The path of crushed foliage appeared to have widened considerably. Pidge felt a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach. This couldn’t be good.

They traced the trail of drops back the way they had came. Sure enough, the trail started where Keith’s path had merged with the larger path of crushed plants. No, this definitely was not good. Pidge headed back, retracing their steps to the first droplet they had noticed.

“EEEEEEEEITH!”

Pidge jumped, startled yet again by Lance’s yell as he zoomed by overhead.

“Oh, hi Pidge!” Lance beamed as he popped back into view.

“Lance, get down here,” Pidge said, their tone so grim that Lance’s smile faded away. He landed on the jungle floor next to them.

“What is it?”

Pidge pointed to the blood drop. Lance squinted at it before he realized what it was. His eyes widened. “I was following all the crushed plants you friend left behind when a bigger path merged with his. That’s where the blood starts.”

Lance didn’t say anything. He just continued to stare at Pidge, eyes wide, waiting for some explanation or solution.

“I-It’s not an animal,” Pidge stammered. The look of helplessness in Lance’s eyes was making them feel as though they had somehow personally let him down. “Nothing that big lives on the island. And sailors wouldn’t do this. The Alteans wouldn’t do this-- . Lance, it has to be Hook.”

For a long moment Lance still didn’t respond, his eyes wide with shock. Finally he turned away. “I left him,” he whispered.

“Lance,” Pidge spoke up, sounding as helpless as Lance looked. “This isn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing that Hook’s people were here.”

“But I left him!” Lance raised his voice, whirling around. “And now he’s in danger and- and hurt!” He gestured wildly at the blood droplets.

“It’s barely any blood!” Pidge tried desperately to comfort him.

“Back when he was being taken! But how much blood do you think there is now? How much blood will there be in the next few minutes?!”

“Alright,” Pidge said, determination in their voice. “Take me back to the hideout. I’ll grab Hunk and we’ll get Rover-”

“There’s no time for that!” Lance cried. “I need to get Keith, now!” He rose into the air, turning towards the direction the path was headed.

“Lance, wait!” Pidge yelled.

“This is my fault,” Lance choke out, his voice breaking. He turned to look at Pidge one more time, his eyes big and full of pain. “I need to fix it.”

“Lance!” Pidge cried out, but he was gone.

Pidge swore loudly before bolting through the jungle in the direction of the hideout, crashing through anything that got in their way. ‘That goddamn idiot,’ they thought furiously. ‘He’s gonna get himself killed!’

As soon as they reached the clearing with the pool Pidge dove straight in, kicking furiously. They leaped through the entryway at the bottom, pausing only to suck in a breath before charging down the hallway. “Hunk!” Pidge screamed. “Hunk!”

“What is it, what happened?!” Hunk called out, alarmed. He poked his head out from their makeshift living room.

Pidge skidded to a halt in front of him, gasping for breath. “That- new kid- is an idiot! Got- kidnapped. Lance- wouldn’t wait!”

“Woah, woah, what?!” Hunk exclaimed, even more alarmed.

“Come- come on!” Pidge panted, gesturing wildly. “I’ll explain- in Rover.”

With that they bolted back down the hall, Hunk racing after them.

 

 

Keith groaned, a dull throbbing reverberating off his skull. He reached up to stroke his aching head, feeling a large lump swelling underneath his hair. He shifted and there was a clinking sound. Confused, Keith pried his eyes open. At first he didn’t see anything. He sat up, blinking furiously, but nothing but plain black greeted him.

“You awake in there?” A gruff voice called out, slightly muffled.

Keith spun around, and this time his eyes fell upon something. There was a thin sliver of light, as if leaking in from the crack under a door. Keith shifted again and the clinking noise followed. He glanced down but he still couldn’t make anything out. He could feel it, though. A cold metal cuff around his ankle.

“I can hear you moving around. I know you’re awake!” the voice called from behind the door.

“What the hell is going on?!” Keith snapped. “Where am I?”

“You’re lucky enough to be on board the best ship this world has ever seen,” the voice told him, full of pride. “This vessel is Voltron, terror of the seas, manned by the legendary Captain Hook himself! Then again, I’d hardly call it lucky for you-”

“Why am I here?!” Keith interrupted.

“As bait,” the voice sneered. “There’s no doubt that flying maniac will come if we have one of his people.”

Keith stiffened up. He was bait for Lance? But Lance didn’t even know he’d been kidnapped. If only he had stayed at the Altean village with Allura and Coran. But wait! This was all just a dream, or rather, a nightmare now. He didn’t need saving. He’d just have to endure whatever happened until he woke up.

Despite this reasoning, Keith didn’t seem to feel any better. He tugged at the shackle on his ankle frantically, his heart racing. He just wanted to get out of here.

“You should be grateful,” the stranger mocked him from the other side of the door. “Usually we keep captives in the lower hold. The useful ones we put to work, of course. But you’re so special that we cleared out this little storage room to keep you in.”

Keith hissed in frustration, the metal unsurprisingly not budging.

“You even get your own personal audience with the captain when he’s done making the preparations for our real target’s arrival. You’re practically a VIP guest!” The stranger broke into dry, cackling laughter.

Keith began to frantically feel around in the dark. He was near a wall. Smooth wooden planks met his hands. There was the cold of the chain, shackled to the wall, and then nothing else. He cursed softly, not really knowing what he had hoped to find.

“You listening in there?” the voice asked.

“Not like I have much else to do,” Keith spat.

“So touchy!” the stranger mocked. “But you have nothing to fear- yet. You’ll be fine until the captain gets his hook on your leader. After that- Well, let’s just say you’re perfectly disposable.”

“Fuck you!” Keith snarled.

“What did you just say?!” the voice growled in response. There was a rattling noise from the door.

“I thought I instructed you not to let anyone enter except me,” a new voice spoke up.

In that moment, Keith forgot how to breath. It felt as though his heart had stopped pumping, leaving an immense pain in his chest instead. He sat there, petrified, staring at the sliver of light that marked the other side. The side that voice was coming from.

“Captain!” the original voice gasped, sounding excessively guilty. “I’m sorry sir, I just-”

“By ‘anyone’, I meant you too.”

“Of course, sir. My apologies.”

“Well, now that you’ve gotten started, finish unlocking it.”

“Y-yes sir! Right away.”

The door flew open a little too enthusiastically. Keith was momentarily blinded by the light. However, he didn’t shrink away, still frozen on the spot. His eyes merely squinted until they had adjusted to the sudden brightness. He knew that voice. And he knew this face.

“Sh-Shiro,” Keith whispered. His voice broke. He gasped, emitting a strangled, guttural sound similar to what one might hear from a dying animal. Suddenly Keith could move again, and he clutched his sides, shaking violently as he dug his nails into his skin. His vision blurred as tears welled up in his eyes. It felt like his heart had just burst within him, shredding his insides with its shrapnel. He couldn’t see what kind of face Shiro was making.

“So this is the Lost Boy?” Shiro said as he approached Keith. He stopped directly in front of him. Keith stared up at him through his tears, not realizing his nose was dripping pitifully. Shiro’s words fell numbly on his ears, twisting through his mind without gathering any meaning. “Not one of the bravest, I take it.”

“He was doing alright earlier,” the crew member answered, his voice full of gleeful menace. “He must’ve been overwhelmed with fear at the sight of you. Your reputation proceeds you, sir.”

“I guess he doesn’t have much to say,” Shiro said. “And I suppose there’s no use interrogating him when we’re about to have the source of all the information we’d need.”

Keith didn’t understand what he was hearing. What did any of these words mean? He heard footsteps as Shiro turned to leave. ‘No. Don’t go. Please, don’t leave me again.’

“Shiro,” Keith called, his voice quiet and hoarse. “Shiro, it’s me.” The man paused, turning to look at him. “It-it’s Keith. Shiro-”

Keith’s voice trailed off when he saw the way Shiro was looking at him. There was no recognition in his eyes. None of the happiness or love Keith had once known. He simply stared down at the boy with cold indifference. In that moment Shiro opened his mouth, and what he said next shattered Keith’s entire world.

“I don’t know you.”

With that, Shiro was gone, leaving his little brother alone in the dark.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so everyone knows, I will be updating only on the weekends from now on since school has started back up again. This chapter was an emotional roller coaster, but it's finally here!

Lance grimaced as he spotted the ship, anchored behind some sea rocks a little ways away from the island.. He had never gone out to it alone before, without Hunk and Pidge at his side in Rover. Hook had a whole crew, armed with weapons, and here he was, on his own with no plan and a tiny dagger. Still, he stood by what he had said to Pidge earlier. There was no time to wait. Lance was well aware that he was most likely flying straight into a trap, but what other choice did he have? Keith’s life could be in danger, and all because Lance had thrown a tantrum and abandoned him.

Guilt and fear coursed through Lance’s veins as he neared the rocks, using them to try and keep him out of sight from the ship for as long as possible. His imagination raced out of control, picturing Keith lying broken in a pool of blood. Lance shook his head to clear those thoughts away and instead focused his mind on Captain Hook. If Hook had so much as looked at Keith threateningly, Lance would make sure he’d pay!

There was no more cover, and there was no time to delay. A shout rose up on deck as Lance zoomed at Voltron, now in full view. A handful of crew members were up top, bracing themselves for battle. Lance didn’t keep them waiting. Without slowing his descent, he barreled straight into the nearest pirate, legs first, his feet sinking painfully into the man’s gut and knocking the breath out of him. His crew-mates leaped over him as he crumpled to the floor. Lance dodged behind a woman who was swinging her sword at him and kicked her in the back of the knee, bringing her crashing to the deck as well. He yanked the sword from her hand just in time to parry another blow. Without wasting a second, he leaped back and flew out of reach, searching frantically for a quick solution to the pirates. His eyes fell on a large fishing net and he dove for it, gritting his teeth as he heaved the heavy thing into the air and threw it over his assailants.

The pirates became instantly entangled, but this hardly dissuaded them. They furiously thrashed at the woven ropes with their swords and daggers, trying to cut themselves free as quickly as possible while they snarled and cursed. However, it wasn’t quick enough. Lance shot from one to the next, whacking each across the head with the blunt end of his stolen sword. They dropped like stones, unconscious before they’d hit the ground.

Once he had knocked each of his attackers out cold, Lance spun around frantically, searching for more enemies. There were none. Something was wrong here. Hook had way more people than this tiny group posted on deck. Perhaps they were all waiting below, ready to jump out and corner Lance when he had nowhere to fly to. Cursing loudly, Lance ran over to the nearest hatch and yanked it open. No sinister faces or glinting weapons greeted him. His feeling of unease only growing, Lance leaped down into the bowels of the ship.

The gun deck was as empty as above. Again, Lance cursed at the eerie lack of enemies in his path. This couldn’t be good. However, he pushed on anyways, snatching a lantern off the wall as he descended the nearest ladder into the abandoned powder magazine, then down again into the hold, the belly of the beast. It was dark here, but if he remembered correctly, Hook had a little makeshift room at the stern of the ship where he kept captives. Lance wove in and out of stacks of crates and barrels as he made his way to the back, glancing around nervously in search of enemies hiding in the shadows. He found none. If anything screamed trap, this did, but that didn’t matter. He had to know that Keith was okay, now. He could work on getting them out of here after that.

The wall of the prison room came into view. A guard stood by the heavy set door. The woman grinned menacingly when she spotted Lance. “There you are,” she spoke in a gruff voice. “I was beginning to think you’re friend would bleed out before you even got here.”

Lance clenched his jaw at her words. So Keith was hurt, and hurt badly. Well, he was going to make sure that Keith wasn’t the only one in pain. He brandished his sword and charged at the guard, a strangled cry of rage piercing the air. She smirked and dodged his blow, swinging at his exposed back. Lance managed to spin around in time and block her blow, but the force of it sent him sprawling backwards against the wall. He raised his sword again to block another swing from her. She pressed in close to him, hissing in his face. “You should’ve heard his screams!” the pirate cackled. “Of course, they died out after his lung was split open. Shame, really.”

Lance writhed around under the weight of the pirate pressing against their swords, snarling viciously. Her grin only widened as she observed his struggles. Suddenly, Lance spit in her face, blinding her. The woman shrieked in outrage as he pushed her back. He swung and she just managed to parry in time. However, this threw her off balance, and Lance dropped low to kick her legs out from under her. She went down hard, and it was only moment before Lance was upon her. He stomped on her wrist, forcing her to let go of her sword with a gasp of pain. Swiftly, Lance kicked it away before reaching down and wrapping his hands around her throat. The guard's eyes went wide as she was cut off from oxygen. She grasped at Lance’s wrists, trying to wrench them away but he held on tight, channeling all his rage into his fingers. 

Her struggles gradually became weaker and weaker as her eyes grew unfocused and so, too, did Lance’s desire to take out his rage on her. Lance choked back an angry sob, hating the heavy rasping sounds that she made and the scared expression on her face. Finally her eyes fell shut and her struggles ceased. Lance released her neck, gasping as tears poured down his own face, his body shaking. He was angry and miserable and terrified, the image of the woman’s face as she struggled for breath burned in his mind. He looked at his trembling fingers for a moment, amazed and disgusted at the power held within a simple grip. Finally he composed himself enough to shakily lean forward and check the guard’s pulse. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt the faint thump beneath her skin. 

Lance pulled himself to his feet, still trembling all over. He noticed a ring with a single large key on it, glinting a few feet away in the lantern light. It must’ve fell off the guard's belt during their fight. He scooped it up and approached the prison door rapidly, remembering that Keith lay on the other side, in need of his help.

“Shit,” Lance hissed as he missed the heavy padlock with the key, his hands shaking too much. He concentrated hard and got it in, turning it frantically and throwing the door open. The light of the lantern fell on a hunched form, wrapped up in a dirty old blanket. The form was rocking back and forth, muttering something rapidly, over and over again. Lance noticed a pool of dark red surrounding the person. “Keith!” Lance sobbed, running up to the figure and placing his hand on its shoulder. Suddenly another hand was grabbing his own and he was thrown over the form’s shoulder, his head slamming into the wall.

Lance lay there stunned, his head foggy and numb. He fought unconsciousness, forcing himself to look up into the face of the figure. The man had broad shoulders and a muscular build. His hair was black, but with a shock of white hair for bangs. There was a broad scar stretching across the bridge of his nose. Lance spotted the glint of a metal hook beneath the sleeve of his dark red tailcoat.

“Hook,” Lance growled, trying to pull himself into sitting position. His head felt like it would burst from the sudden movement, and Lance was forced to slump back down again. It was then that Lance noticed Hook’s expression.

The man was sitting beneath the blanket in the puddle of blood, knees clutched to his chest and his hand and hook respectively pressed against his temples. His eyes were wide and unfocused as he stared at the ground, rocking frantically back and forth. Lance paused to try and make out what he kept muttering, unease rising in him.

“You can’t save them,” Hook whispered. “You can’t save them, you can’t save them, you can’t save them-”

Lance groaned and forced himself to stand, clutching at the wall for balance. His eyes swept the room, but Keith definitely wasn’t here. This was bad. This was worse than bad. Hook was vicious enough when he was thinking clearly, but Lance knew how much more dangerous he was when he became like this. He had lost the sword when Hook had thrown him over his shoulder, so Lance slowly pulled the dagger from his belt. There would be no use in fighting Hook like this. He needed to get out of here. Luckily for him the pirate captain still seemed to be unaware of his presence, staring at nothing as he muttered to himself.

Cautiously, Lance tiptoed around him and toward the door. He had almost made it when his foot hit something. A dull, metallic sound rang out and Lance jumped, glancing down to see that he had accidentally kicked the sword he’d lost.

“YOU!” Hook screamed. Lance whirled around to find the man on his feet and facing him, staring straight at Lance with those chilling, unfocused eyes. “YOU KILLED THEM!”  
Lance lunged for the sword. His fingertips just grazed the hilt of the weapon when Hook’s foot connected with his side. The force of the kick was so powerful that Lance thought his ribs might cave in. He was thrown out of the room, crashing into some crates.

“YOU KILLED THEM!” Hook screamed again, stomping over to the dazed Lance. Lance stared groggily up at him, his mind having not quite caught up with what was happening around him. He spotted his dagger lying next to him and sluggishly picked it up.

Hook reached down and lifted Lance off the floor by the neck with his one hand, bringing them face to face. Lance clawed desperately at Hook’s fingers. So this is what that woman had felt. Mind numbing terror, and the feeling of one’s lungs being on fire. Tears of pain and fear rolled from Lance’s eyes, his feet kicking frantically below him, searching fruitlessly for sme ground to support himself with. It hurt. His throat felt like it would snap, his lungs, like they would explode. It hurt!

Spots of color burst before Lance’s vision. He could feel the pain numbing, his life draining. He stared into Hook’s face. What he saw shocked him back into reality. Hook was crying. The rage and disgust that was normally on his features had been replaced by a wide-eyed look of despair. His expression was so- human.

“I won’t let you kill me too,” Hook whispered. “I won’t let you kill me.”

Just then, something caught the glint of the lantern light, and Lance’s eyes fell on the dagger he was still clutching in his hand. Without waiting a moment longer, Lance sliced open Hook’s arm. Hook released him with a scream of pain, and Lance crumpled to the floor, coughing and sputtering. Sweet air filled his lungs once more, and without waiting another second, he had scrambled to his feet and barreled in the opposite direction of Hook.

“I WON’T LET YOU KILL ME!” Hook shrieked, charging after him.

Lance’s mind was racing. Where was Hook keeping Keith? He didn’t exactly have time to search every room in the ship with the murderous pirate captain on his tail.

Right then Lance spotted the ladder up and he bolted for it, clinging to it like it was his one salvation. He had almost made it all the way up when Hook grabbed his ankle and started to drag him back down.

“NO!” Lance yelled. “Get off me!” He kicked out blindly and his foot connected with something solid. The hand around his ankle disappeared and Lance managed to scramble up the rest of the way. Without stopping to see where he was, Lance ran forward, desperate to get away. He didn’t get very far.

Something heavy collided with him, slamming him to the floor. Lance his angrily and lashed out with his dagger, only to have a boot stomp down on his hand. Other pairs of hands reached out and grabbed his wrists and ankles, holding him down. Still thrashing around wildly, he looked up, dread sinking into the pit of his stomach. It was the missing crew.

He appeared to be in the crew’s quarters, judging by all the bunks and hammocks, and countless faces sneered down at him. So this is where they had all been hiding.

“Well, that was easy,” one pirate laughed.

“Fuck you!” Lance spat. “Let me go!”

The man opened his mouth to retort, but was promptly bowled over by Captain Hook as he sprang up from the port hole Lance had crawled out of.

“I HAVE TO LIVE!” Hook screamed, launching himself at Lance. “I’M NOT GOING TO DIE TODAY!”

Lance shrieked in fear and tried to shrink back, an effort that was pointless considering all the pirates pinning him to the floor. To his luck, several other crew members leaped at Hook, tackling him to the floor as well. They held him down as Lance watched in astonishment. Hook screeched and flailed around, knocking several of the pirates back, but more moved in to help keep him in place.

“I’M NOT GOING TO DIE!” Hook yelled, practically foaming at the mouth. “I’M NOT GOING TO DIE!”

“Hold him down!” one of the pirates ordered. “He’s having another episode!” The man turned to Hook. “Captain!” he implored. “Captain, snap out of it! We captured the boy!”

Hook snarled and spit, screaming incoherent nonsense.

“Captain Hook, wake up! The plan worked, remember? You chased him up here, and we got him!”

Hook was tiring himself out, his struggles slowly ceasing. He stared carefully at the faces around him, his eyes beginning to recognize them. “The-the plan?” he whispered.

“Yes!” the pirate talking to him nodded vigorously. “The plan!”

Hook nodded slowly. “I’m okay now,” he told his crew quietly. “Let me up.” They backed off and Hook sat up carefully.

“Sir, are you hurt?” One of the pirates called out, pointing to the blood staining the bottom of Hook’s coat.

Hook waved her away. “I’m fine,” he said. “It’s the pig’s blood we spread around the prison to trick Lance.” Upon saying his name, Hook stood up and slowly walked over to where Lance was being pinned on the floor. Hook still looked confused, like he had just woken up in a strange place, but he managed to glare down at his captive anyways. “You should feel honored,” Hook growled. “All this fuss is for you.”

Lance snarled at him from the floor. “Go to hell, Hook!”

Hook laughed dryly. “I’m already there.” He turned and paced away. “I suppose you’ll want to see the person you came here for?”

Lance froze.

“I’m not sure why you even bothered, really. He seems like a sniveling coward. Burst into tears soon as he saw me.”

“What did you do to him?!” Lance yelled.

“Nothing, yet,” Hook told him, spinning on his heel to face him again. “Honestly, I’d rather not waste all the time it’ll take torturing you before you actually break and give me the information I want. But I presume that if I so much as touch, er- what did he say his name was? Keith?”

“Don’t you dare hurt him!” Lance growled.

“Ah, you see I was right.” Hook’s manner of speaking had no sinister amusement in it. He sounded cold, indifferent, his face blank and frozen rather than curling with a cruel smirk. Somehow it seemed even worse than if he had just burst into maniacal laughter. “Now, you tell me everything, and there won’t be any need to harm your precious friend.”

Lance was shaking with rage. He couldn’t just give away their secrets to Hook, but he couldn’t allow Keith to get hurt either. His only hope was Hunk and Pidge now.

“Oh yes,” Hook spoke up. “I assume your other friends will be here shortly.” A chill shot down Lance’s spine. “Interrogations will have to wait until we’ve dealt with them.” Hook turned to his crew. “Take him to the other prisoner.”

“Yes, sir!” several crew members said at once.

Lance was dragged to his feet, kicking and thrashing around the whole time.

“Don’t you dare hurt my friends!” He screamed. “You’ll regret this, Hook! You’ll regret ever coming near this island!”

Hook waved dismissively at him before the pirate captain disappeared from view as Lance was dragged from the crew’s quarters. With great difficulty the pirates managed to drag Lance up a ladder, then into the galley. Lance was forced onto his knees and his wrists and ankles were bound together with rope. The crew mates then threw open a door, hurled Lance inside it, and slammed it shut, leaving him in darkness.

Lance lay there a moment, cursing loudly. He fell silent to take a breath, and in that moment he heard a muffled sob. Lance froze. “Keith?” he whispered.

“It’s not true,” Keith said, his voice trembling. “It’s just a nightmare. He’s not real. He’s dead.”

“Who-Who’s dead?” Lance asked. Upon recognizing Keith’s voice he had felt relief wash over him, but it instantly disappeared when he registered Keith’s words.

“Shiro,” Keith sobbed out.

“Who’s Shiro?” Lance asked quietly. He had know idea what was going on. All he knew was that Hook had lied. He clearly had done something to Keith. Lance had never heard the other boy sound like this before. It was the sound of hopelessness, and it scared him.

“Sh-Shiro’s dead!” Keith cried, sobs wracking his body.

Lance couldn’t see Keith in the dark but he inched his way towards his voice. “Keith, i-it’s okay. We’re going to get you out of here, alright? Hunk and Pidge are coming and they’ll rescue us.”

Lance’s only answer was more sobs. He slowly inched closer until he could feel Keith. He pressed against his back, wishing that his arms were free so that he could wrap them around the crying boy. Lance began to hum softly, not sure what else he could possibly do to try and comfort Keith. 

Keith stiffened at the sudden contact but he didn’t pull away. Instead he curled further in on himself, his sobs mixing with Lance’s song in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some small research on the proper components of a ship, but my portrayal of Captain Hook's ship is by no means accurate. I'm not going to focus too heavily on the details since I don't think it's especially important for this type of story. However, here are a few things I learned.
> 
> Gun Deck: This deck is inside the ship and contains all the canons. It is right below the main deck, or at least it is in the diagram I found, and it takes up that entire floor with the exception of the galley.  
> Galley: This is basically the kitchen/mess hall.
> 
> Powder Room: The name is exactly as implies. It stores gunpowder and some ammunition.
> 
> Hold: Lowest level of the ship, typically reserved for storage of cargo, supplies, and ammunition.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took for ever to come out, but life got a little insane for a while! I'm glad I was finally able to post it though and I hope you all enjoy ^_^

Pidge was steadily feeding more wood into the combustion chamber of Rover’s steam-powered engine. They had designed the engine themself, making Rover far more efficient than a ship that had to rely on wind currents in sails or the manpower of rowing. The structure of the boat was designed by Hunk, streamlined and built for speed. Finally, Pidge had added metal reinforcements around the sides. It may not pack the power of Voltron, but it’s size and design made it much faster, plus the metal shielding offered some protection against Hook’s arsenal.

With the engine humming steadily, Hunk steered Rover straight towards the ocean rocks that lay a ways beyond the shoreline. It was the only place Hook’s ship could possibly be, as it provided the only adequate cover for concealing Voltron. Pidge squinted at it as they got closer, fingering their whip nervously. “Stupid Lance,” Pidge cursed darkly, trying their hardest not to imagine what Hook could be doing to him right now.

“What’s the plan?” Hunk called to them. “Even if they aren’t expecting us to come by sea, they’re definitely waiting for us.”

Pidge thought a moment. They were tempted to just say screw it and charge on board swinging, but that kind of attitude is why they were heading there now to save Lance’s sorry ass. “If Hook plans on capturing us, he probably isn’t keeping Lance and his boyfriend in the hold like always. The hold is a great place to keep prisoners normally since it’s a pain in the ass to fight your way all the way down there then fight back up again, but he knows we’ll be expecting that.”

“Where is he keeping them, then?” Hunk asked, shifting the wheel slightly to keep them on course.

“My guess would be a storage closet or something. He wouldn’t keep them in a main room, because that’d be too easy to reach. The ship is only so big, so it can only have so many main spaces. But if it’s a storage room or something, it’d be easy for us to overlook while we’re running around, panicking and trying to find them. Plus, even if we did figure out his plan, we’d still have to check every goddamn little nook and cranny that you might shove some rum into.”

“So the good news is, we know basically where he’s hiding them,” Hunk repeated. “And the bad news is we’re going to have to check every closet on the ship?”

“Basically,” Pidge nodded. “Since we’ve got the advantage in terms of arriving, we should try to stay hidden as long as possible. That should be easy on deck, but as soon as we run into a single patrol in those narrow corridors inside the ship, we’re going to be screwed.”

“Then we need a distraction,” Hunk nodded thoughtfully. His eyes fell on the plank Pidge was throwing into the engine and he grinned. “I’ve got it.”

 

 

Lance was startled from his humming by the sounds of yelling and running above him. Keith didn’t seem to notice the sudden commotion, still sobbing pitifully and mumbling to himself. Lance couldn’t help but let a smile escape his lips. Hunk and Pidge were here, and it sounded like they were causing chaos. He strained extra hard against the ropes binding him, but they only bit further into his skin. Lance cursed as he felt the warmth of his own blood trickle down his wrists and ankles. Looks like he was going to be useless until either Pidge or Hunk came and got him.

“I want to wake up,” Keith whispered next to him. “I want to wake up now.”

There was a slight feeling of bitterness in Lance’s chest at the thought that even now Keith thought he was dreaming, but he couldn’t bring himself to be angry. Keith sounded so broken, and it was Lance’s fault for letting his emotions fly out of control and abandoning him. He pressed back against Keith and, for lack of hands, nuzzled his head into his shoulder.

“They’re almost here,” Lance said soothingly. “Then we’ll get you out of this place.” He paused, feeling an unbearable pressure build up in his throat. “I’m so sorry, Keith,” Lance choked out, using all his self control to not break down and start crying also. That wouldn’t help anyone right now.

Keith didn’t answer. He just trembled next to Lace, another sob splitting the air. That sound tore Lance apart, but he shook himself, forcing him to think of something pleasant. He remembered the first time he had heard Keith laugh at the dinner table last night. It had sounded so carefree and beautiful, almost like a song. And he remembered, after having recovered from the awe he felt, that ridiculous little pang of jealousy brought on by the knowledge that Hunk had been the first one to make Keith laugh and not him.

Lance nuzzled further into Keith, resuming his humming. Stupid ropes! If we wasn’t bound so tight he could actually do something other than lie there uselessly. Right then Keith hiccuped, and the sound was so cute that Lance almost forgot the situation they were in.

Suddenly there was a crash right outside the door. Lance jumped and Keith whimpered, his shaking only getting worse.

“Lance!” A familiar voice called. “Are you in there?”

“Pidge!” Lance exclaimed in relief. “Hurry up and get us out of here!”

“God damn finally!” Pidge hissed. “I’ve already torn through half the closets on this stupid ship!” There was the sound of them running around.

“What’s taking so long?” Lance squirmed around impatiently.

“I’ve gotta find something to pick the lock with!” Pidge yelled back. “Good thing you assholes are in the kitchen, there’s plenty of sharp stuff.”

There was some scratching and clicking sounds from the door, then it flew open. Lance squinted as the light blinded him. Before his eyes even had time to adjust he could feel Pidge cutting his ropes away.

“Shit, what happened to him?” Pidge asked.

Finally able to see, Lance turned to Keith. He was relieved that there weren’t any obvious physical injuries, but Keith still looked awful. His face was flushed from crying so hard, his eyes bloodshot, and his cheeks wet from the tears that still seemed to be coming. Despite having both his arms free, Keith hadn’t bothered to wipe away the snot dripping from his nose. Worst of all was his expression. Keith looked utterly defeated, as though nothing mattered to him anymore. Lance had never seen anyone with that expression before, and it scared him.

“I don’t know,” Lance told Pidge quietly.

Lance had lost his dagger back when the pirates had tackled him, so he took the kitchen knife Pidge had used to cut his bindings and began to hack at the large metal peg nailing Keith’s chain to the wall. He splintered the wood open, freeing the peg. It wasn’t the best weapon, but Lance sheathed the knife anyways before reaching down and pulling Keith up. At first it seemed like Keith wasn't going to stand, but he finally planted his feet on the ground, however unstably.

“This way,” Pidge said, turning and dashing off. 

Lance kept a firm grip on Keith’s wrist and ran after them, practically dragging Keith along. “Where’s Hunk?” He yelled over the increasing noise of shouts and running feet.

“He should be back in Rover by now, waiting to get the fuck outta here!” Pidge ran over to a ladder and scrambled up it. They reached down again to help Lance pull Keith up with him.

Smoke. The first thing Lance noticed as he emerged on deck was all the smoke. The shouting had reached deafening volume, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Pidge and Hunk appeared to have lit the bow of the ship on fire! Pirates were scrambling around, desperately trying to haul buckets of water up from the ocean below. This task was no easy feat, as the blaze was growing larger by the second and the ocean was far below, making it necessary to lower the buckets down with ropes before carefully pulling them back up so as not to spill all the water.

To make matters even more difficult for them, Hook seemed to have lost his mind once more. He wasn’t attacking anyone, but he was trembling and screaming about death and refusing to die here. His crew was too busy to attend to him, so he was left on his own to stumble around and yell, seeming to stare and scream at things that weren’t there. To their great misfortune, in that moment Lance took to pause and see what was happening, Hook’s eyes fell on him.

“JERRIES APPROACHING FROM THE REAR!” Hook screamed nonsensically.

Lance couldn’t help but think that there was no doubt he had lost his mind since now he was yelling random names at them.

Without hesitating a moment longer, Hook charged at them, his eyes wild and crazed. A nearby pirate noticed his captain suddenly take off, and he spotted the group of escapists as well. He unsheathed his sword and ran to assist Hook, barreling straight towards them.

“Shit!” Lance hissed, drawing the kitchen knife from his belt. Keith collapsed onto the deck without his support and Lance took a few steps away from him, holding eye contact with Hook. “Pidge, don’t let them hurt Keith!” he yelled.

Then Hook was upon them. He swung wildly with his hook, seeming determined to rip Lance apart with his bare hands. Lance sidestepped him just in time and Pidge lashed out with their whip, curling around the pirate captain’s ankle and bringing him crashing to the floor. That was all Pidge could do to help, though, because the next instant the other pirate was swinging at them, and they had to jump back and focus on this new enemy.

Lance kept his attention on Hook, charging at him. Hook rolled out of the way of Lance's knife in time and was back on his feet, snarling and kicking. It was all Lance could do to keep dodging, while Hook’s attacks only seemed to get faster.

“Die, you jerry scum!” Hook spat, swiping with his prosthetic. This time Lance wasn’t quite quick enough and the hook grazed his cheek. He didn’t even have time to react before Hook’s other hand followed, hitting him square in the jaw. Stars erupted beneath his eyelids and Lance stumbled back, pain shooting through him. He lashed out frantically with the knife, not even paying attention to where he was aiming.

Hook ducked under his swipe and kicked his feet out from under him, sending Lance crashing down. His breath was knocked out of him and Lance wheezed in pain, clutching at his ribs. He just barely rolled back before Hook’s foot came down right where his skull had been a moment ago. Lance jabbed at his assailants leg, this time hitting true. Hook yelled in pain and jumped back, giving Lance the time he needed to scramble to his feet. 

Hook snarled and put his leg down as if to charge forward again, but the pressure on his wound threw him off balance and he winced. Lance took the opportunity to slip behind him and kick the wounded leg out from under him, bringing Hook to his knees. He grabbed the back of Hook’s shirt and raised the knife, ready to strike. This man had tried to abduct Lance. He had put his friend’s lives in danger. And he had hurt Keith. He was going to pay. Lance was going to give him a scar he’d never forget.

Just as Lance started swinging, a scream cut through his mind, sharper than the knife he was wielding.

“Don’t hurt him!”

Lance stopped instantly, his eyes widening. He turned and stared in astonishment at Keith, sitting a few feet away. Keith’s face was wearing an indescribable expression that was somewhere between fear and love, and he was staring directly at Hook.

In that moment of hesitation, Hook, grabbed Lance’s arm and threw him over his forward. Lance’s shoulder hit the deck first and he screamed in pain as it seemed to snap. He lost track of the knife until he saw it hovering above his face, grasped in Hook’s fist.

“I WON’T LET YOU KILL ME!” Hook screamed, and Lance was sure in that moment that the last thing he would ever see was the flash of the knife as it descended to his throat.

In that instant a whip curled around Hook’s arm, stopping him from stabbing through Lance and pulling him back. Without hesitation, Lance swung his fist into Hook’s face, a scream of fear and rage and agonizing pain tearing from his lips. Hook flew back, tumbling away from the force of the blow.

Next thing Lance knew, he was engulfed in unbearable pain, his screams splitting the air once more. The pressure on his shoulder disappeared as suddenly as it came and he realized through the dizzying nausea that Pidge had been pulling him to his feet.

“RUN!” Pidge screamed, their whip cracking across Hook’s chest as he tried to get up, forcing him to topple over once more.

Lance looked around frantically until he saw Keith, who was still sitting in his same place, staring at Hook with that bizarre expression. Lance stumbled over to Keith and yanked him forcefully up by the arm, wincing as the movement shot needles through his shoulder again.

With Pidge at his side and Keith being dragged along behind, the three of them ran for the edge of the deck like their heels were on fire. Lance hesitated for a moment at the edge, but Pidge shoved him without a moment's notice, and next thing he knew there was freezing water pressing into every inch of his body. Blind and panicking, Lance tried to swim in the direction he thought was up, but every movement made his shoulder feel like it was being split apart. He sunk further and further down, flailing desperately as the last of his breath left his lungs.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed him and he was gulping down sweet air. Something solid appeared beneath him, and Lance cried out in pain as, yet again, he landed shoulder first onto it.

“Get us out of here, now!” Pidge was screaming. Lance felt the boat shift underneath him as Hunk turned Rover around.

“What happened?” Hunk called.

“Hook,” Lance wheezed out.

“He attacked us just as we reached the deck,” Pidge told him bitterly.

Hunk nodded in concern before noticing that lance was clutching at his shoulder. “Lance, are you alright?”

“I think it might be dislocated,” Lance responded. “God, I hope my collar bone isn’t broken.”

“Pidge, take the wheel!” Hunk ordered, running to Lance’s side. He stripped Lance’s shirt off, a little roughly since he was rushing. Lance winced. “Shit,” Hunk murmured, taking note of the large bruises already starting to form, not to mention the obvious misplacement of the bones beneath Lance’s skin. “Tell me how bad this hurts.” Hunk pressed down lightly on Lance’s shoulder and Lance shrieked in pain. “That bad, huh?”

“Yes, it’s that fucking bad!” Lance snarled.

“Now tell me if this hurts,” Hunk ignored his comment.

“Wait, Hunk, don’t!” Lance gasped, shutting his eyes in preparation for more pain. Surprisingly, it didn’t come. Hunk pressed lightly into Lance’s collar bone, but he felt fine. There was a tiny bit of pain from where the pressure radiated into his shoulder, but the collar bone itself felt alright.

Hunk let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not broken.” He reached off to the side and brought out the first aid kit that they always kept on Rover. He began to put Lance’s shoulder in a sling, trying to be as gentle as possible.

“I’m sorry, Lance.”

Lance had been too occupied by the pain and fear that he might’ve broken something to notice Keith until then. The boy was sitting at the back of the boat, pressed against the side with his knees curled up against his chest. Tears were still falling from his eyes, and he stared at them as though in shock. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let you hurt him.”

“Why do you care about what happens to Hook?” Lance asked, a little peeved that Keith had distracted him from his fight earlier.

Keith looked back at him steadily, a kind of misery reflected in his eyes that made more than just Lance’s shoulder hurt.

“He’s my brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I researched whether or not it would be possible to have a small boat powered by a steam engine, and apparently it is! Even better, wood can be used as the fuel for said steam engine instead of coal! I wanted Rover to be fast and also not limited to the direction that the wind is blowing like a sail boat, but I obviously couldn't use an electrical engine, so this is the solution! Plus I'd rather they used wood than coal since it makes a lot more sense for them to be able to get their hands on wood.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It starts with lots of pain, but it ends on a happy note! I had extra time for once so I decided to get this one out right away :)  
> Also, happy Valentines day!! <3

Everyone was screaming. Pidge had let go of the wheel, stormed over to Keith, lifted him up as high as they could given that he was a head taller than them, and thrown him overboard. Pidge screamed threats as they manhandled Keith, Keith screamed in terror as he toppled into the water, Lance screamed at Pidge to let go of Keith (a poor choice of words), and Hunk screamed that they needed to stop the boat as he ran over to the engine.

“No, keep going!” Pidge snapped at Hunk, glaring at him. Hunk ignored them and cut the engine, using the last of its fading momentum to turn them around.

“What the hell, Pidge!” Lance yelled. Everything had happened so fast that he hadn’t even had time to process the weight of Keith’s words.

“He’s Hook’s brother!” Pidge screamed back at him, pointing accusingly in the direction where Keith had gone under. Lance froze, really registering what they were saying. Keith’s head shot up from the water that instant, coughing and spluttering. He reached feebly for the side of the boat but Pidge snarled and kicked his hand. “You can swim back to shore,” they spat. “Tell Hook that we’re tired of babysitting you!”

“I-I’m sorry!” Keith spluttered. “I don’t know what’s happening! Shiro’s supposed to be dead!”

“Who the fuck is Shiro?” Pidge growled.

“My brother!”

“I thought you said that Hook was your brother?” Hunk asked, coming over to them. He tried to reach down to pull Keith back in the boat, but Pidge stood angrily between them.

“You kept mumbling about some Shiro back on the ship!” Lance exclaimed. “But you said Shiro was dead.”

“He is,” Keith sobbed. “He’s been dead over a year now.”

“I’m sorry, Lance said quietly. “But Keith, I’m really not getting what you’re saying right now.”

Keith let out another sob and pointed back in the direction of the ship. “H-Hook!” He broke down before he could finish his sentence.

Hunk frowned at him, just as confused as everyone else felt. “Hook’s not dead though.”

“Be nice if he was,” Pidge muttered darkly.

“But he is dead!” Keith insisted, sobbing harder.

Pidge was still making sure that Keith didn’t touch Rover, forcing him to tread water. Hunk looked like he wanted to help, but Pidge was staying firmly in his way. Lance hated the sight of Keith crying, but something held him back from doing anything. Had Keith really been lying to them this whole time? If he was Hook’s brother, had he been spying on them? Had he betrayed the location of their hideout to Hook? But then, what was all this nonsense about his brother being dead? Who the hell was his brother anyways, Hook or this Shiro guy?

“Hook’s not dead!” Pidge spat. “He almost killed us back there while you sat around! No wonder you didn’t try to help, you were probably hoping he’d kill us! You led Lance right into his trap!”

“No,” Keith whimpered. “I didn’t know- I don’t know what’s happening!”

“You and me both,” Lance whispered, his voice breaking. Keith glanced at him and saw the look of betrayal and confusion etched across his face.

“No, Lance!” Keith sobbed. “Lance, I didn’t know! Shiro’s dead, Shiro’s supposed to be dead!”

“Shiro?” Lance laughed quietly, no hint of humor in his voice. “I thought Hook was your brother.”

“He is!” Keith exclaimed. “I mean, he must be! He looks exactly like Shiro, he sounds exactly like him! But-” another sob escaped Keith’s lips. “But Shiro died a year ago i-in the war. He’s dead! I’ve had to live with the fact that he’s d-dead for a fucking year! And now he’s just suddenly here and a fucking pirate and he doesn’t even r-remember me-”

“He doesn’t remember you?” Hunk cut in.

Keith shook his head numbly. “I tried to talk to him,” he whispered. “I said it was me. A-and he said that he didn't even know me.”

There was silence for a moment. Despite everything that had been said, Lance still didn’t understand a thing. Pidge finally spoke up.

“So let me get this straight. Your brother, Shiro, fought and died in that world-wide war you were babbling on about last night. Now he’s been reincarnated as the Captain Hook, and he just accidentally happened to kidnap you specifically, conveniently forgot all about who you are, and you get to just hang out with us as best buds while Hook’s out planning to slice all our throats. What a touching family story.”

“Pidge-” Hunk started harshly, but Pidge continued on over him.

“I believe you were saying that all this was a dream earlier, right Lance?”

Lance nodded reluctantly, not sure what else he should do.

“Well, its real funny that the only thing that seems unbelievable to me is your bullshit story.”

“I-it’s the truth,” Keith whispered. He glanced over at Lance but Lance looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

“Truth?” Pidge scoffed. “You go on about some fantasy land that not even Coran has heard of, talk about a war that supposedly is happening all over the world yet no one else knows a thing about, and claim your upstanding citizen-soldier brother has now come back from the dead as the most notorious pirate on the seas, and you still call this crap truth?!”

“I don’t understand it either!” Keith wailed. “I don’t know how I got here! I’d never heard of any Neverland before I woke up here! And I have no idea why you can’t find America or why no one knows about the world war or what Shiro is doing here! I don’t even know if that really is Shiro or if it’s some nightmare-”

“It's not a nightmare!” Lance yelled. Everyone froze and turned to him. Lance got slowly to his feet, shaking from pain and confusion and anger. “This is real, Keith! I’m fucking real, standing right here in front of you! You don’t just get to deny everything that’s happened. I don’t even understand what the hell just happened, but I know its not some fucking meaningless dream!”

Keith stared at him, wide-eyed. He’d seemed to have exhausted all his tears now. Slowly he nodded, sniffling. “You’re right,” he whispered. “You’re right. I’m so sorry, Lance. I’m sorry everybody!”

“Apology not fucking accepted,” Pidge snarled.

Ignoring them, Lance walked over to the side and extended his hand to Keith.

“Lance!” Pidge snapped, trying to push his hand away, but the look Lance gave them stopped them in their tracks.

“I’m tired,” Lance said, all emotion gone from his voice. “This has gone on long enough. If Keith’s a traitor, then it’s hardly a good idea to hand him back over to Hook with all the information he has on us. I just want to go home and rest now, and we’re taking Keith with us.”

Keith stared in shock at Lance’s hand for a moment before taking it. Lance winced as he pulled him up, the effort stretching some of the muscles in his injured shoulder. The next moment Keith was tumbling onto deck, dripping a puddle all over the floor. Lance released him immediately and collapsed across from him, leaning against the opposite side of the boat. He felt like he had just climbed a mountain without a view.

“I’ll steer,” Pidge hissed, stalking over to the wheel, their rage clearly boiling just below the surface.

Hunk knelt down next to Lance. He patted him on his good shoulder and gave him a kind smile, letting him know wordlessly that he thought he’d done the right thing. Lance smiled weakly back. Next, Hunk reached into a small storage hatch and pulled out a rough blanket. He approached Keith, who flinched back, but Hunk merely draped it around his shoulders. “It’ll keep you warm until we get back.”

“T-thank you,” Keith murmured. He was staring at Lance, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Lance still refused to meet his eyes. Hunk smiled in response to Keith before returning to Lance’s side and continuing where he’d left off patching up his wound.

 

 

Pidge docked Rover in a small, well hidden inlet. The trek back to the hideout was long and silent. It was the first time Keith had walked there instead of flown. Lance himself hovered off the ground, but he stayed at the same pace as everyone else. Pidge stormed ahead, fuming. Next was Hunk, who’d turn around every so often to check on the two behind him. Then there was Lance, staring straight ahead and firmly keeping his back to Keith. Finally, Keith took up the rear, trailing behind.

Keith had only ever felt this miserable one other time in his life. That was the day he had found out Shiro had died. Now Shiro was alive. Keith knew he should feel happy, but it just hurt. He had spent an entire year getting used to the fact that Shiro was gone, that they would never play baseball together on the weekends again, and that the space next to him in their bed would now be forever empty. And suddenly Shiro was just here, but he wasn’t really Shiro. He looked like him and sounded like him, but he didn’t act like him at all. Keith had only seen Shiro angry twice in his life. Once when Keith ate the last rice cake that Shiro had been saving as a treat after a big test, and once when some kid had been mean to Keith. Shiro had made sure that kid never picked on him again. But this Shiro was nothing if not angry. He was unstable, dangerous, and seemed intent to kill Lance and his friends. Keith’s big brother never would have hurt anybody. And that was another thing. Shiro didn’t even remember that Keith was his brother! No, there was no happiness, no relief. Only pain.

To make matters worse, Lance was upset with him and Pidge now had a real reason to hate him. He couldn’t tell how Hunk really felt. He was being kind as always, but Keith had a feeling that he was just as unsure as the rest of them. Keith wished he could just talk to Lance and explain anything, but how was he supposed to explain what he didn’t understand? Things made even less sense than when he’d first woken up here. It all felt so hopeless.

When they got back to the hideout Pidge told Keith that if he tried anything they’d kill him on the spot, then stormed away. Hunk announced that after everything that had happened they all deserved a big lunch and he retreated to the kitchen. Lance, still not looking directly at Keith, took his wrist and led him down a now familiar hallway in silence. They reached Lance’s room and he directed Keith over to the bed.

“You should get some rest,” Lance spoke softly, staring at the floor instead of Keith. “You look terrible.”

“You're the one that needs rest,” Keith protested. “You’re hurt!”

“I’m going to go rest in Hunk’s room,” Lance said quietly. “He won’t be using it right now.”

Keith turned to look at the bed. It wasn’t big like the one back home that he and Shiro had always shared. But after seeing his brother again, however painfully, he couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping alone one more time. Keith reached out as Lance turned to go, grabbing his wrist this time.

“Please don’t leave me,” Keith whispered.

Lance didn’t look at him. He didn’t say anything. He seemed on the verge of crying, struggling to hold back his tears. Keith lifted up the covers and slid underneath them, gently pulling Lance with him. He didn’t resist. Keith made sure they were laying so that Lance’s weight wasn’t on his injured shoulder. He was glad of the small size of the bed. It gave him an excuse to be close to Lance. Slowly, timidly, Keith wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist and pressed against him. A heavy silence hung between them. Finally Keith spoke again.

“I’m so sorry, Lance.” His voice came out high-pitched and earnest.

For the first time in forever, Lance met his eyes. He opened his mouth and simply said, “I can’t trust you, Keith.”

In that moment Lance’s walls broke down and he started sobbing. Keith had no idea what to do. Shiro had almost never cried in front of him, and when he did he’d just reassure Keith that he was going to be fine. Keith was usually the one being comforted. Panicking, he pulled Lance closer and rubbed his palm across Lance’s cheek the way Shiro used to do for him.

“Shhhhh,” Keith whispered shakily. “It’s going to be okay.” He didn’t even know if those words meant anything, coming from him.

Lance buried his face in Keith’s chest, his body trembling as tears spilled from his eyes. He grabbed onto Keith and held on tight, shaking against him. In a moment of inspiration, Keith started to hum the song that he’d heard Lance humming back on the ship. He couldn’t remember exactly how it went, and he was slightly out of tune, but he tried his best.  
At first Lance only cried harder and Keith cursed himself for making it worse. However, Lance slowly started to calm down, his sobs growing quieter and his shaking gradually subsiding. Keith let out a sigh of relief, continuing the broken tune.

Right then Lance giggled. “You’re really bad at that,” he snorted.

Keith’s first instinct was to retort, but he froze up, blushing bright red. Lance’s giggle sounded so cute! He thanked god that Lance couldn’t see his face. It was right then that he became aware of how close in proximity they were. As in literally cuddling in the same bed close. Slowly Keith glanced down at Lance. He noticed the way the tears shone like starlight on his copper cheeks, the slight peppering of freckles over the bridge of his nose, and the way his long, dark lashes curled around his closed eyes and oh god, he was beautiful.

Lance nuzzled further into him and for a second Keith forgot how to breath. “Don’t stop,” Lance murmured sleepily, and it was then that Keith realized he had quit humming after hearing Lance giggle. He quickly started up again, his tune even more broken than it had been before. Lance giggled once more, making Keith’s heart leap, but he didn’t say anything else. A few minutes later and Lance’s breathing had slowed, his body relaxing in Keith’s embrace.

Taken by a sudden thought, Keith leaned in and gently kissed the other boy’s forehead, careful so as not to wake him. He was convinced that Lance’s hair was the softest thing that had ever existed. He didn’t notice the way the corners of Lance’s mouth curved slightly, instead shutting his own eyes and waiting for sleep to come to him as well. For a few blissful moments, Keith forgot all about Captain Hook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Lance with freckles is a head canon of mine. Seriously, he would look so adorable! Not that that beautiful bastard doesn't already ;)  
> Valentines day cuddles, anyone?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's more Hunk in this chapter, yay!!! ^_^ I've been feeling guilty because I haven't been giving Hunk the love and attention he deserves, but he got to be there more in this one and hang out with the bashful pining dorks ;) Also, rip Keith. He has blushed too much this chapter. I think he might be in serious danger of setting himself on fire :p

Keith woke up in the air. He wasn’t there for long. The floor hit him hard and he gasped as pain shot through his side. What the hell had just happened?

“Pidge!” Lance cried out. Keith looked up dizzily to find Pidge standing menacingly over him.

“What the hell were you doing?” Pidge snarled down at him. Keith flinched and slid back a bit, but they only stepped closer.

“I-I was sleeping!” Keith stammered, still completely confused.

“Sounds relaxing,” Pidge sneered. “Ever heard of personal space?”

Keith just stared blankly up at them. For someone talking about personal space, Pidge’s foot sure was awfully close to his face.

“Leave him alone,” Lance snapped. “We were just napping!”

“In the same bed?” Pidge growled. “Have you forgotten that we just found out he’s Hook’s brother! He could’ve killed you in your sleep, Lance!”

“We slept in the same room last night and he didn’t kill me then!” Lance scowled. “And besides, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m still alive and perfectly fine now.”

Pidge turned and marched over to Lance, causing him to flinch back this time. However, all they did was raise their hand and gently touch Lance’s cheek, right where Hook had left a scar. “You don’t look fine.”

Lance glared down at the ground. “Keith isn’t the one who hurt me,” he said quietly.

“He isn’t?” Pidge raised their eyebrows. “I recall him telling you not to hurt his precious big brother, which is what got your shoulder busted up.”

“I-I didn’t mean for Lance to get hurt!” Keith protested, standing up.

“Right,” Pidge turned to glare at him again. “You just decided Hook’s safety was more important.”

“No, I-” Keith stammered.

“You what?” Pidge snarled. They approached him and Keith backed up slowly until he was pressed against the wall.

“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Keith said quietly.

“That’s funny,” Pidge hissed. “Because if I remember correctly, you never told your lovely brother not to hurt us.”

Keith glanced over at Lance to see if he would help him, but Lance wasn’t meeting his eyes. The look on his face made Keith’s chest feel like it was caving in. It served as a harsh reminder that despite the moment he and Lance had just had, Lance still didn’t trust him. Honestly, if Keith were in his situation, he wouldn’t trust himself either.

Pidge grew impatient from Keith not answering and spoke up again. “Here’s the lesson you should take from all this,” they spat. “You lay a finger on my friends and I’ll gut you.” With that, Pidge stalked away. However, they paused by the doorway. “By the way, Hunk says lunch is ready. You can tell him I’m not hungry.”

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. “Lance,” Keith finally spoke up. “I really didn’t want you to get hurt.”

Lance smiled softly at him. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t know about you but I’m starving.” He winced slightly as he got up and stretched, clutching his shoulder. A stab of guilt shot through Keith. “Let’s go eat. I think we’ve earned it.”

“Lance-!” Keith called, but the other boy only patted him on the shoulder before disappearing down the hall.

 

 

“Where’s Pidge?” Hunk asked as they entered the kitchen. “I sent them to get you.”

“Thanks for that,” Lance said sarcastically. “They said they aren’t hungry.”

“Everything alright?” Hunk asked.

“It’s fine,” Lance shrugged, wincing again at the movement of his injured shoulder. Everyone in the room knew he was lying.

Keith sat nervously down next to Lance. He stared at the plate of food set before him. It appeared to be rice and corn cooked together with herbs. It looked delicious, but all the anxiety of the past few hours had wiped away Keith’s appetite. Lance, on the other hand, seemed to have been telling the truth when he said he was starving. He was gobbling the food down like it was the last meal he’d ever have. He noticed Keith wasn’t touching his and turned to glare playfully at him.

“Hufk cookd dis wif hid blud, swet, nd ters! Eet!”

“Ew, Lance!” Hunk chuckled.

“Huh?” Keith stared quizzically at Lance, having no idea what he had just said through his mouthful of food.

Lance rolled his eyes, scooped up some rice and corn with his fork, and held it up to Keith’s mouth. “Eet, Keef!”

Keith paused, a little annoyed that Lance was trying to feed him like he was some toddler. However, he sighed and obliged him, opening his mouth and swallowing the food down.

“Goot!” Lance exclaimed. He finally swallowed down his own food and took another bite himself. Then he scooped more rice off Keith’s plate and held it up for him again. Keith ate it and Lance grinned, patting him on the head. Keith felt a weird mixture of frustration at being treated like a toddler and some other feeling that had to do with how happy Lance looked about feeding him. This other feeling was an especially strange one. It was sort of like a tension deep in the pit of his stomach and a burning sensation on his face. Was he blushing? God, he hoped not.

Luckily, at that moment Hunk came to his rescue. “Lance,” Hunk grinned in amusement. “I’m sure Keith can feed himself.” Lance huffed in response and Keith shot Hunk a grateful look.

“I’m not really that hungry, actually,” Keith said quietly.

“You haven’t eaten since dinner last night, right?” Hunk asked. “Just eat a little of it.” Keith nodded and took another bite. It was quite delicious.

The rest of the meal passed with a sort of quiet tension. Hunk did his best to keep a conversation going, and Lance responded readily through mouthfuls of rice, which Hunk seemed to miraculously understand. Keith, however, kept silent for the most part, picking at his food slowly. Everything that had happened in the span of the last couple of hours was more than just a little overwhelming.

“Can you take this to Pidge?” Hunk asked Lance once they were all done with their meal. He handed him a plate of rice and corn that he had set aside.

“On it!” Lance grinned with his usual dumb salute.

Keith helped clear up the dishes with Hunk. He was just turning to go when Hunk called out to him. “Hey, how about you wait here until Lance gets back?” Hunk smiled kindly at him, but Keith couldn’t help but feel that his words were strange. Keith wasn’t some lost puppy, after all.

“I can go find him,” Keith said, turning slowly again.

“Actually, I’ll come with you!” Hunk exclaimed, starting after him. “There’s, uh, something I forgot to tell Lance.” Keith eyed him with confusion, but shrugged and let Hunk lead the way down the hall. “Speaking of Lance, you should really see his hoard,” Hunk called behind him. “He collects all kinds of junk!”

“Junk?!” Lance’s voice rang out. “Hunk Garret, I trusted you, and yet you slander my treasures behind my back?” Lance popped out from a doorway up ahead, an expression of mock offense etched across his face.

“My apologies, your majesty!” Hunk bowed low to the ground, and for the first time Keith realized that Hunk was every bit as corny as Lance. No wonder the two of them got along so well.

“As you were,” Lance grinned, making a ridiculously pompous gesture with his wrist. “To the treasury!” Keith rolled his eyes as he followed the two of them while they giggled like school boys. He couldn’t help but crack a small smile, though.

The room Lance took them two was about twice as big as the kitchen. Likewise, it was held up by wooden support beams that had all manner of things hanging from them, not to mention the piles of stuff littering the floor that almost touched the ceiling itself. There were trinkets and toys, buttons and jewelry, and books and manuscripts inscribed in languages Keith didn’t even recognize. He picked up a stone tablet with strange runes and a seashell embedded in it.

“Nyma gave that to me!” Lance grinned. “We’re quite the item if you know what I mean.” he quirked his eyebrow playfully.

Keith felt a pang of anger at that statement, which was beginning to feel all too familiar to him. He suddenly didn’t want to be touching the tablet any longer, and he set it down hastily with a frustrated huff. However, he was reassured that Lance’s statement may not be all that true by Hunk’s amused snort.

Keith jumped as he felt something cold around his neck. Lance had somehow gotten behind him and he was pulling a necklace over his head. “Pidge made this,” Lance beamed, pointing out the intricate metal work depicting a leaf pattern. “Their specialty is weapons really, but they still make jewelry with the leftover scraps.” He grabbed another necklace and slung it around Keith’s neck, this time standing in front of him. Keith could feel his face growing hot from having Lance so close. He sincerely hoped Hunk wasn’t paying attention at that moment. “That’s from the Alteans!” Lance flicked at one of the feathers on the leather cord, accidentally brushing his finger against Keith’s chest as he did so. If Keith wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was now. Another necklace was placed around his neck. “This I got from a merchant guy. He only spoke through interpretive dance! Best conversation I ever had.”

Lance continued to place various necklaces, bracelets, rings, and even a tiara on Keith, explaining where he got each one while he did it. He didn’t seem to notice how red Keith’s face was, too caught up in his own stories. He also didn’t seem to notice that fact that all the jewelry was threatening to drag Keith to the ground. Finally, Hunk came to the flustered boy’s rescue yet again that day.

“You can’t fit all the jewelry on him, Lance,” Hunk laughed. “He’s not your personal model!”

Lance pouted. “He could be. Keith, won’t you be my model? Do a catwalk, like this!”

At this point Keith bore a closer resemblance to a tomato than a person. You could practically see the steam rising off him as he watched Lance strut around, wiggling his hips.  
“Come on, leave him alone,” Hunk chuckled. “Hey, Lance, come here. I wanted to tell you something about dinner tonight.”

Lance eagerly obliged, and Keith was grateful for being able to breath once more. He took off some of the jewelry so that he didn’t keel over, then glanced back at the two. Hunk was whispering in Lance’s ear, a serious look on his face. Lance listened with the same seriousness, then nodded solemnly. It made Keith feel a little uneasy to see these two normally cheerful people look so resigned. However, Lance glanced up at him then and Keith looked away quickly, pretending to scan a pile of books. Right then one of them caught his eye. The title read, ‘Tall Fishermen’s Tales’, though it wasn’t so much the title that Keith was interested in, but the fact that Keith could read it.

“Hey!” Keith exclaimed, scooping up the book. “This is in English!”

Hunk and Lance looked at him blankly. Lance approached him and stared down at the book cover. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean the language this book is written in is English!”

Lance suddenly stared up at him with wide eyes like he was a child on his birthday. “You can read?!”

“Yeah, I-” Keith broke off, realizing what Lance had just said. “Wait, you can’t?”

Lance snorted. “No. There’s not exactly a school around here. Unless you want to learn to write in Altean, which Pidge has. I tried but I’m not very good-” Lance looked a bit embarrassed at his confession.

This news absolutely baffled Keith. What kid didn’t grow up learning to read? Then again, Lance did have a point. There didn’t seem to be any schools on the island. Plus, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk didn’t seem to have any parents to teach them, either. Keith had never really thought about that until now. What were three teenagers doing living underground in the middle of the jungle all by themselves? If he stuck by his dream theory then it wouldn’t need to make sense, but that theory had caused more than its fair share of trouble, not to mention the fact that everything did feel far too real to be only a dream. Perhaps Keith was being a little selfish as well. Shiro was here. He didn’t want this to be a dream. He wanted his brother to truly be alive.

“Keith?”

Keith brought himself back to reality, finding Lance and Hunk staring at him in concern.

“You alright, buddy?” Hunk asked.

Lance reached out and Keith flinched a little in surprise, but Lance only touched his cheek softly. Keith wasn’t sure what he was doing until Lance started to wipe away his tears, and it was then Keith realized he had been crying.

“I-I’m sorry,” Keith stammered.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hunk smiled reassuringly, patting his shoulder. “It’s been a weird day, huh?”

Keith nodded, worried he might break out sobbing if he said anything else. His lower lip trembled and suddenly Lance’s arms were around him. Keith’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he hugged Lance back. “Ow!” Lance hissed and Keith realized he’d grabbed his injured shoulder.

“I’m sorry!” Keith exclaimed, trying to pull away, but Lance only held on tighter.

“Be careful, dumbass,” he laughed lightly. Keith smiled and hugged him once more, this time making sure not to touch his shoulder. They stayed like that for a long time, and Keith was just starting to hope they could always stay there when he suddenly realized Hunk was in the room too. He pulled away, embarrassed.

“Thanks, you guys,” Keith mumbled sheepishly.

They both smiled in response before Hunk turned to Lance. “I should probably check your shoulder again. We should put some of that Altean ointment on it to keep the swelling down.”

Lance nodded in agreement. “Bring that book!” He called to Keith. “You are now my personal story teller!”

“Do I get a say in this?” Keith huffed in amusement, following after them with said book in hand.

Lance beamed at him. “Nope!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Food note! The corn and rice dish, known as arroz con maiz, is traditional Cuban cuisine! I chose this in honor of finding out that Lance is canonically Cuban in the show!!! Another little trivia is that Keith has to live full days in either Neverland or at the internment camp before he will wake up in the other place, so being knocked out or taking naps doesn't count.  
> Also, the reason why there haven't been many WWII and internment camp facts is because I'm trying to keep these fact things relevant to each chapter. In other words, they will be in chapters with Keith in his normal life at the internment camp. I have a really important fact that I've been wanting to share for a while coming up soon!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about my hiatus!! Life has really been kicking me in the ass, but I finally got this done! Technically I wrote it last weekend, but it was super late at night and it needed a lot of editing that I didn't have time for until just now. Either way, finally, another chapter!!! ^_^

Despite the chaotic morning, the rest of that day went relatively smoothly. Hunk and Lance spent most of it listening to Keith read stories from the fishermen book. To Keith the stories were boring at best and downright cringey at worst. However, Lance and Hunk ate up every word he said, staring at him in wide-eyed wonder. Keith wasn’t sure whether it was because they actually believed all the tall tales, or if they were still in awe that Keith could read. Either way, their reactions and expressions were enough to keep Keith entertained. There seemed to be a warm and relaxed mood all around. If only it could have stayed that way.

 

 

“Keith will be sleeping in my room tonight,” Pidge announced at the dinner table. Keith, in response, almost choked on his mouthful of food.

“What?” Hunk asked. “Why?”

“We all know we can’t trust him,” Pidge spoke up. Keith sank further in on himself when he saw how neither Hunk nor Lance showed any sign of protest to this statement. “He’s Hook’s brother. At best he could sneak out in the night and at worst he could kill us all in our sleep. I think it best if he stays with me during nights.”

Lance frowned from his spot by Keith. “I can keep an eye on him just fine.”

Pidge shot a glare at Lance. “Last I checked you feel asleep literally in his arms. And this was right after we had discovered he’s related to a psychopath.”

“He’s not trying to kill us!” Lance protested.

“Oh really?” Pidge raised their eyebrows. “And why are you so sure?”

“Because he would have done it already,” Lance answered quietly. Keith shot a glance in his direction. The other boy was looking down, his eyes distant and unfocused.

“Fine,” Pidge shrugged. “That still doesn’t eliminate the fact that he may try to run back to his precious brother with all the useful information he’s gathered on us. Or maybe he’s just sticking around to hear some specific secret, and as soon as he hears it he’ll kill us then. The fact still is that we can’t trust him, and I don’t think snuggling with our enemy is the best way to address that problem.”

Keith almost snapped back that he wasn’t their enemy, but he stopped himself. Was he truly not? Shiro was their enemy, and Keith was his brother. Did that make Keith their enemy by default? And what if he was ever put in a situation where he had to choose between them and Shiro? Would he really be able to choose them over his own brother? Keith clenched his fists, glaring at the ground. He was angry. He wasn’t angry at the situation he was in. He wasn’t even angry at Pidge. He was just angry with himself.

“No way!” Lance exclaimed, interrupting Keith’s thoughts. It was then that Keith realized he had been spacing out, and tuned back in to the conversation.

“It makes sense, Lance!” Pidge snarled. “That way he can’t escape!”

“No,” Hunk spoke up, finality in his voice. “We are absolutely not locking Keith up. That’s just cruel.”

“It’ll be fine!” Pidge hissed back. “It’s not like we’ll stop feeding him! And we can take him to the bathroom periodically and he’ll still have blankets and shit so he doesn’t freeze.”

Chills ran down Keith’s spine as he realized what they were talking about. Pidge seriously wanted to lock him up?

“Pidge,” Lance said quietly. For some reason the anger had drained from his voice. The look in his eyes was strange as well. His gaze was almost sympathetic as he said his next phrase. “You sound like Hook.”

For a moment there was an icy silence. Suddenly Pidge stood up and knocked their plate to the floor. It shattered upon impact, slicing through the quiet. They had a look of pure rage on their face as they glared down at Lance. Lance simply looked back at Pidge with that same soft, pitying expression. Keith, on the other hand, was tensed up. For a moment he was certain that Pidge was going to lunge at Lance, but then Pidge spun around and stormed from the room.

“Pidge!” Hunk called after them, but they ignored him. Hunk turned to glare at Lance. “That was too far,” he said, before getting up and running after the shorter teen.

Lance sighed loudly and slumped down in his seat. He looked exhausted all over again, like he had aged a few decades in the past couple of seconds.

“Lance?” Keith asked hesitantly.

“Someone had to say it,” Lance spoke sadly. “We can’t just keep you in a cage.”

“Lance,” Keith repeated. “I, uh-. I means, thanks. You know, for not letting them lock me up.”

“It’s nothing,” Lance shrugged. “You’ve been locked up enough today, right?”

Keith didn’t answer. He stared at his knuckles, which were turning white from having been clenched for so long.

“Well, come on,” Lance said, getting to his feet. “We better wash the dishes.”

 

 

Scrubbing the dishes had started with the same heavy silence. However, Lance soon started joking and babbling on again. He still looked exhausted, but he clearly didn’t like standing around without speaking. Keith felt relieved by it, honestly. He didn’t usually mind silences, but now he could use all the distraction he could get. He had a feeling that now would be a terrible time to be left alone with his thoughts.

After they finished up the dishes, Lance led the way down the hallway as he chattered on. Keith trailed behind, smiling fondly at the back of his head while the other boy was absorbed in his own world. Keith was so focused on Lance that at first he didn’t even realize what had happened. All he knew was that one moment Lance was there and the next he was surrounded by darkness. Slowly, it dawned on him that there was a hand clamped over his mouth and another one pinning his arm behind his back as he was pressed face-first into a wall.

Panic rose inside him. This was the second time he had found himself being restrained that day. Were the pirates back? Were they going to take Keith away again? Would Lance even bother to come and save him this time now that he knew Keith was related to Hook?

Keith started to thrash around, but he froze when he heard a voice in his ear. “Struggle and I’ll gut you.” Instant relief washed over him. It was Pidge’s voice. Then, just as soon as the relief had come, it was gone. Honestly, Pidge might seriously be planning on gutting him.

Keith could hear Lance’s voice fading down the hallway, evidently having not noticed that his companion was no longer following. Keith managed to swivel his head around and caught sight of the rectangular doorway, illuminated by the light from the hall. Some of the light spilled a ways into the room, glinting off thin, metal tools that lay on tables and hung from the ceiling. Keith’s feeling of dread only worsened. They were in Pidge’s work room.

Suddenly Keith felt himself being spun around before he was slammed back against the wall. Something hard and cold pressed into his throat, but it was too thick to be a knife. Keith glanced down to see that Pidge was holding a metal bar against his neck. It was the same kind of bar that you might see on prison cells. Cold shivers crept down Keith’s spine.

Pidge pressed the rod further into his neck and Keith’s hands flew up, pushing back so that he’d still be able to breath at least a little. Pidge sneered up at him, a sinister smile on their face.

“Like them?” Pidge hissed. “I made them just for you.” They jerked their head backwards and Keith followed the movement to see a pile of similar bars resting on the floor behind Pidge. “I spent all day working on them so that we could fashion you a cell. Apparently that’s too ‘cruel’ though,” they spat angrily. “You’re lucky Lance and Hunk are so kind. However, as you can probably tell, I’m not. And if you ever so much as think of betraying their kindness, you’ll be dead where you stand.”

“Pidge, I wouldn’t-” Keith tried to choke out, but Pidge cut him off by increasing pressure on the bar.

“You probably assume that I’d be the one to kill you, too,” Pidge smirked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to, given the opportunity, but despite Lance and Hunk’s soft exterior, they won’t hesitate to end you if you betray us. I think you’ve already seen a little of what Lance is capable of when you first met.”

Keith shuddered as memories of falling from the sky flashed before his eyes once more. Had that really been only yesterday?

“Hunk and Lance are my family,” Pidge continued. “And I will die before I let you hurt them! Don’t think for a moment that they wouldn’t do the same.” Suddenly the pressure on Keith’s neck was gone and he slumped to the floor, gasping for breath. “Luckily for you,” Pidge spoke up, “I won’t kill you until I have solid proof that you’re a traitor. After all, I’m nothing like your brother!” They spat that last part and threw their metal bar onto the ground, inches away from Keith. He flinched, jumping back.

Keith stared up at them as they loomed above him, his vision slightly blurred from the tears that were starting to leak out due to all the overwhelming emotions swirling inside. “Pidge, I-” he began, but was promptly cut off by a scream from Lance.

“KEEEEITH!” Lance yelled, his footsteps pounding down the hall.

“He’s in here!” Pidge called back.

Lance reached the room and bent over, gasping for breath. “Oh, thank god,” he panted. “I thought you had run- I mean, um-”

“I was just talking to him,” Pidge said.

Lance straightened up and quirked his eyebrow in suspicion. “What, just having a chat about the weather?”

Keith hastily tried to wipe his tears away before Lance could notice but Lance caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to squint at Keith in the darkness of the room. “Keith, are you alright?”

“Fine,” Keith croaked out, getting to his feet.

Lance stared at him a moment longer, worry written across his face, before he turned back to Pidge. “Well, as much as I’m sure Keith would love to have a sleepover with you, I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist he come with me. Metal bars don’t make for good pillow fights, so I think it best to avoid the whole child endangerment thing.”

Pidge crossed their arms and glared off to the side, clearly unamused by Lance’s jokes. “Fine,” they growled.

Lance paused for a moment, looking between Keith and Pidge. The tension in the air was so thick you could’ve cut it with a knife. He sighed and spoke up once more. “I’m really sorry for what I said at dinner Pidge. I mean, you were being a bit crazy, but that wasn’t cool of me. I don’t think you’re anything like Hook.”

Pidge stayed silent for a bit longer before they relaxed the tension in their shoulders and turned to meet Lance’s gaze. “I know, Lance. It’s alright.”

Lance smiled and opened his arms. “Hug it out?” Pidge nodded and embraced him.

Keith watched from the side as the two made up, feeling numb to everything that was in front of him. He wasn’t a traitor. Not now, anyways. But would he become one? If he had to choose between Shiro and these three, could he even make that choice? Was Pidge really right? No, they couldn’t be. He wouldn’t do something like that. Right?

Keith was brought back to reality by the sound of Lance’s voice. “Oh also, I’m gonna need a new dagger. I kind of lost mine on the ship.”

Pidge shoved him away, but they were still smiling. “That’s the real reason you’re apologizing, isn’t it? You just want me to make you a new weapon!”

“Never!” Lance scoffed. “If you don’t believe me then I’ll take my business elsewhere!”

“Like any other place is as good as me,” Pidge snorted, punching Lance in the arm.

“Man aren’t we full of ourselves,” Lance smirked.

“Am I wrong, though?” Pidge shot back.

“No,” Lance smiled. “Thanks, Pidge.”

“Just don’t lose this one, or next time I’m giving you a metal toothpick.”

“I’d stab the hell out of some ankles,” Lance grinned. “Night Pidge!”

“Night,” Pidge waved over their shoulder.

Suddenly Keith felt a hand on his wrist and then he was being pulled from the room. He still felt numb, as though he wasn’t really a part of this reality. He gazed blankly at Lance as he was guided down the hall.

“What’d Pidge say to you?” Lance asked.

“More death threats if I betray you guys,” Keith shrugged. “The usual.” His voice sounded dry and strained.

“I’m sorry,” Lance responded. “I should’ve been paying more attention so that Pidge couldn’t snatch you. Believe me, I know they can be terrifying!”

Keith shrugged again.

“Hey,” Lance smiled softly. “Earth to Mullet! You’re spacing out on me.”

“Sorry,” Keith whispered. His voice broke slightly. Next thing he knew he was being encircled by Lance’s arms. For a moment Keith’s eyes widened in shock, but then he relaxed, resting his head on Lance’s shoulder as he reached up to return the embrace. They stayed like that for a while, their breathing and heart beats the only sound. Finally, Lance broke the silence.

“Pidge isn’t a bad guy, you know. I know they seem really cold-hearted, but the truth is they're just scared. Pidge used to have a family, unlike me and Hunk. They’ve been through a lot. So now they're just scared of losing us too.”

Keith nodded against Lance. “I know what it’s like to lose family,” he whispered. As soon as he said those words, he regretted it. The family he had lost was the same person that Lance hated. However, Lance only smiled gently at him.

“I’m sorry,” Lance whispered. “It doesn't matter that Hook’s the one you lost. He’s still your brother, so losing him must’ve been unbearable.” Keith buried his face in Lance’s neck, choking back a sob. Lance began to rub small circles in his back. “I can’t imagine-” Lance trailed off. Curious as to why he suddenly stopped talking, Keith glanced up at him. There was a far-off, pained look in his eyes.

“Lance?” Keith asked softly.

Lance seemed to snap back to reality then. He smiled down at Keith. “Sorry about that, I’m just tired. Let’s get to bed, yeah?”

Keith nodded. He was disappointed to have Lance pull away, but the next moment Lance’s hand slipped into his and their fingers laced together. Keith looked at him, surprised. Lance was pointedly looking the other way, he cheeks dusted pink. Keith felt his own cheeks heat up and he quickly diverted his gaze before he could be caught staring.

They walked back to Lance’s room like that, both blushing the entire way. Upon reaching the room, Lance headed towards the blankets on the floor to lie down there, but Keith kept his grip on his hand. Lance glanced back at him in confusion.

“I-,” Keith stuttered, his blush deepening. “I don’t want-, I mean-. It’s just that, Shiro and I shared a bed all our lives. But this past year I had to get used to sleeping alone. I-I don’t want to sleep alone anymore.” Keith made sure he was looking everywhere but at Lance’s face.

Just then Lance let out a soft laugh and Keith’s eyes snapped up to him. “Okay,” Lance smiled. And as simple as that, the two of them got under the covers together. At first Keith gave Lance as much room as possible, careful not to touch him. Just because they had cuddled earlier that day didn’t mean Lance would want him in his personal space now. However, Keith’s fears were calmed when Lance reached out and pulled Keith against him. Keith let out a breath and relaxed, nuzzling his head into the crook of Lance’s neck. He had almost dozed off when Lance spoke up.

“It’s not wrong for you to love Shiro,” Lance whispered. “He is your brother, after all. You shouldn’t feel guilty for that.”

At first Keith didn’t know what to say. He knew this wasn’t Lance saying that he trusted Keith, but he was validating Keith’s pain. It was alright for him to feel confused and torn. Keith felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest.

“Are you already asleep?” Lance asked.

Keith reached out and found Lance’s hand. He grasped it and ran his fingers over the back of Lance’s knuckles, trying to convey his gratitude without words. Lance must’ve understood, because he hummed softly in response, pressing closer to Keith. If he hadn’t been so tired, Keith might’ve stayed up all night listening to the sound of Lance’s breathing. Instead, he was passed out within the minute, feeling safer than he had in a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have any cool facts or research to put here relating to this chapter, so I'll just say I hope you all have a lovely day! Hell, have a lovely life while you're at it ^_^


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, apologies for the delay! I need to stop saying when the next chapter will come out because I never really know. I just try and update as often as I can! Anyways, please enjoy a couple of dorks being cute, followed by our regularly scheduled angst ^_^

At first Neverland had seemed like a fantastical dream to Keith, but the more time he spent in it, the more real it felt. On the other hand, Keith’s world was beginning to feel very unreal. When he woke up back home that morning, he went from one task to another without really understanding any of it. It was Saturday so there wasn’t school. Instead Keith had a full day of work. Before he left, his mother commented several times on how he wasn’t listening to her. Each time Keith smiled and apologized, but every time just a few moments later he found himself daydreaming again, and the cycle of scolding repeated.

For the second time in his life Keith got yelled at for not focusing on the job. It was then that he finally forced himself to snap back to reality, or at least, this current reality. He couldn’t risk getting fired, after all. This job supported his family. Still it, was hard to get back into the familiar routine of work. His mind kept trying to stray back to Neverland. His thoughts ranged from fantasies about proving he was trustworthy to Pidge, to remembering the way Lance’s soft breathing felt on his forehead as they fell asleep together, to picturing Hunk's warm smile. Mostly, however, Keith thought of Shiro.

He thought of all the happy moments he had spent with his brother growing up. He thought of the ways in which Shiro’s sturdy and solid frame differed from Lance’s slender one when Keith used to lay next to him in bed. He remembered how proud Shiro had looked when he stood before his family in his uniform just before he left for the war, and how that was the last time Keith had ever seen him. Or rather, the last time until yesterday.

Keith pictured Shiro’s face, twisted in rage as he screamed nonsense to the sky. He remembered the cold, unfeeling look he had given Keith when his little brother begged him not to leave, sobbing on the floor at his feet. He remembered Shiro’s words: “I don’t know you.” The complete lack of emotion in that voice tore through Keith like knives. Was that really his brother? Could that really be Shiro? Honestly, Keith didn’t know. But if it was Shiro, then what the hell had happened to him to make him like this?

Keith was afraid. He was afraid that the monster he had seen on that ship truly was his brother. But he was just as afraid that Hook may not be Shiro. Finding out that Hook wasn’t his brother would be like losing Shiro all over again. Keith didn’t think he could handle that.

Sleep was welcome in more ways than one at the end of the day. Keith was exhausted from both work and the homework he had managed to squeeze in afterwards. He also was eager to return to the world where his brother still existed. The world where Lance was asleep at his side. His mother gave him a kiss goodnight on the forehead with a worried look on her face. She tucked Keith in as though he was a grade schooler again, and Keith didn’t complain. At first he just tossed and turned, his anticipation keeping him from falling asleep. However, the exhaustion finally managed to overpower him, and Keith’s eyes drooped shut.

 

 

The first thing Keith saw when he woke up was Lance’s face. It was half smooshed into a pillow, and his hair was messy and sticking in every direction. Keith couldn’t help but snicker a little at the sight. He simply lay still, contentedly watching the other sleep. Even with his morning bedhead, Lance was still beautiful. Those long, dark lashes were going to be the death of Keith some day. Slowly, Keith reached out and brushed some of the hair out of Lance’s face. With this small movement, Keith realized Lance’s hand was still draped loosely on his waist like it had been last night, and he felt himself blush. It took every ounce of self-restraint Keith had not to kiss every last one of those stupid freckles on Lance’s stupid face. He sighed in frustration, nuzzling into Lance’s chest.

Lance stirred right then, and Keith jumped back as if he had been burned, cheeks bright crimson. The other boy blinked sleepily at him for a moment before frowning. “Whatcha’ doing all the way over there?” he slurred tiredly. Before Keith could respond he found himself caught up in a tangle of limbs as Lance pulled him back over.

“Hey!” Keith yelped while Lance buried his entire face in Keith’s shoulder. He froze as Lance nuzzled him.

“S’ warm,” Lance sighed entirely too close to Keith’s ear. This was bad. Keith was lying in bed with the cutest boy he had ever seen. This was very bad. Why did he think this was a good idea? And now Lance was right here and cuddling with him and literally rubbing his face into his shoulder and, oh god, Keith was going to have a heart attack. He immediately tensed up when he heard Lance giggle. Anything but that stupid giggle. “I can feel your heart racing,” Lance whispered.

It was right then that Keith’s brain went into panic mode. He sat up quickly, disentangling himself from Lance’s arms, and moved to get out of bed. Lance made a disappointed sound that was a low rumble in his throat. Dear god, Lance had actually growled. It was a good thing Keith had escaped when he had the chance.

His brain was still seeing red. What was he supposed to do now? Run? Ask Lance how his day was going? Wait, no, Lance had only just woke up-

“Stupid mullet,” Lance growled once more from behind him. Keith heard Lance moving a moment too late, and the next thing he knew he was being tackled to the ground.

“Hey!” Keith yelled, brain still not caught up on the situation. “What’re you-?” He was silenced by a pillow shoved in his face. Keith pulled it away and pushed the giggling idiot off him, throwing the pillow back at his assailant. His earlier panic was washed from his mind as he focused all his energy on revenge. “You’re gonna regret that!” Keith snarled playfully.

“Give me your best shot!” Lance challenged. He snatched the pillow from the makeshift bed on the floor and hit Keith in the side of the head before he had time to react. Keith recovered quickly and swung at Lance with his pillow, but the other boy blocked just in time as he lashed out himself. Keith managed to switch directions and counter with his pillow. He had just barely caught a glance of Lance’s evil smirk before Lance pushed back, forcing Keith’s own pillow into his face. “Eat it, pretty boy!” Lance yelled in triumph.

Keith didn’t give him the chance to enjoy his victory for long. He sprung forward, pushing Lance to the ground and pinning his wrists down, the pillows falling to the side. “I win,” Keith growled, a pleased smirk on his face. Lance’s eyes widened in shock, and for a moment Keith thought it was because of his surprise attack. Then he noticed that Lance was blushing. In an instant the situation dawned on him. He was on top of Lance, pinning him to the floor, their faces only inches apart.

“I-I’m sorry!” Keith exclaimed, hurrying to get off Lance.

“Keith!” Lance called. Something about the tone of his voice made Keith freeze. He watched, wide-eyed, as Lance reached up to him and cupped his cheek in his hand. Keith let himself be guided gently downward. Lance watched him through hooded eyes as he drew closer and closer. They were so close now that Keith could feel Lance’s breath on his lips and-

“It’s time to eat breakfast, not each others’ faces,” an unamused voice cut into the silence.

Lance cried out in surprise and Keith jumped so badly that he fell backwards off of Lance.

“Pidge!” Lance exclaimed. “Have you ever heard of knocking?!”

“There isn’t a single door in this hideout,” Pidge rolled their eyes, gesturing to the curtains that separated Lance’s room from the hallway.

“You could’ve knocked on the wall,” Lance huffed.

“I could hear you two giggling from out in the hallway. It wasn’t that hard to figure out what was going on.”

“Nothing’s going on!” Keith spoke up quickly.

Pidge’s eyebrows only soared to greater heights. “Uh-huh,” they replied. “I’m sure Lance was just showing you some nice, healthy tongue aerobics.”

“Pidge!” Lance exclaimed.

“Are you planning on going to breakfast or not?” Pidge snapped impatiently.

“Yeah, yeah, were coming,” Lance mumbled. He got up and offered his hand to help Keith up too. Keith’s blush deepened at having Pidge’s eyes on them, but he let Lance pull him to his feet anyway. Pidge turned to lead the way out of the room and Lance gave Keith’s hand a squeeze, smiling apologetically at him. Then he let go and the two of them were headed down the hallway.

 

As usual, Hunk’s cooking was nothing short of heavenly. He had made something similar to pancakes, but lighter and sweeter. They were served wrapped up with fresh berries that Pidge had picked earlier that morning. Apparently this was one of Pidge’s favorite meals, and Keith could see why. They reminded him a bit of the crepes he had gotten at a street vendor’s stall one time when he was very little. His eyes had been bigger than his stomach, and Shiro had ended up having to share the crepe with him, not that his older brother had been complaining. Keith sighed happily at the memory. He was too caught up in his own thoughts to notice Lance gazing fondly at him. Hunk and Pidge, on the other hand, definitely noticed, as there was plenty of knowing smiles from Hunk and excessive eye-rolling from Pidge.

“Lance,” Pidge called from over by the sink as they helped wash dishes after the meal. “Can you fly me to the village? I’ve made a few weapons and jewelry I want to trade.”

“Only a few, right?” Lance asked warily. “Last time it felt like I was carrying an entire armory!”

“It’s not much,” Pidge reassured him. They turned to Hunk. “So, Hunk-”

“I’ve got it,” Hunk nodded with a smile. Pidge nodded back and they exchanged knowing looks. Lance, too, seemed to understand what had just happened. Keith was the only one left in the dark, glancing in confusion from one to the other.

“We’ll be back soon,” Lance waved as he and Pidge exited the room. “Keith, try and behave.” Keith shot him a glare as Lance sauntered away with his dumb smirk. Was this really the same person that had clung to Keith so cutely this morning? Keith huffed in frustration.

“So,” Hunk smiled, what do you want to do while they’re gone?”

“I’d kind of like to go for a walk,” Keith replied.

“Oh,” Hunk said, his eyebrows knitting in worry. “Um, maybe we should wait until Lance gets back before we do that.” Keith eyed him suspiciously. “I mean,” Hunk backtracked, “don’t you want to go on a walk with Lance?” Hunk sighed in relief as he watched Keith’s suspicion turn to embarrassment. “Instead, how about you help me prepare for lunch! I know we just had breakfast, but the dish I’m making takes a few hours to steam so it’s best to start preparing it right away.”

Keith perked up at that. He hadn’t been able to help cook since before his family was moved to the internment camp. “Sure!” Keith smiled happily. Hunk returned his smile fondly when he saw how excited Keith looked.

“We’re going to make Lau Lau,” Hunk told him. “I’ve got some salted fish on hand, and I told Pidge to trade for some fresh pork, so we can add that later.” Hunk rolled up his sleeves and started pulling out ingredients. “Let’s get started!”

 

 

Slipping back into the rhythm of cooking was easy. The fish they were using had already been cleaned and gutted for storage. Hunk commented on how using fresh fish was better, but he didn’t want anyone going down to the beach right now until they knew that Hook’s ship was gone. Keith winced at the mention of Hook’s name, but Hunk kept chattering on, so he was able to relax again.

Keith helped chop up the salted fish and wrap it in taro leaves. Him and Hunk then bundled that in ti leaves, tying the ends up in string. Hunk prepared the steamer while Keith finished wrapping the fish. It almost felt as though he were back home in the family restaurant, helping his parents wrap the onigiri in seaweed. The two had just finished putting all the Lau Lau in the steamer and started laying out some leaves for the pork when they heard footsteps pounding down the hallway.

“HUNK!” Pidge screamed.

Keith’s mind went blank in panic. Where was Lance? Had something happened to Lance? He was just about to rush to the door when Pidge burst through it, followed by Lance a second later. Keith sighed in relief, but his worry returned when he registered the look of tension on the two’s faces.

“What is it?” Hunk exclaimed, hurrying over to them. “What’s wrong?”

“Hook!” Lance gasped between breaths. “He’s attacking the Altean village!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONCE I WAS THE READER, CURSING THE CRUEL AUTHORS FOR INTERRUPTING A KISS! NOW I AM THE AUTHOR, LAUGHING EVILLY FROM MY LITERARY THRONE AS I DELAY THE KISS SCENE! OH, HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED!
> 
> *ahem* Sorry about that, I couldn't resist ^_^ Now, for notes!!
> 
> The breakfast our characters had is German pancakes, which is very similar to crepes. This ties in to my head-canon of Pidge being German. Lunch was a Hawaiin dish called Lau Lau, which is due to my head-canon of Hunk being Hawaiin. I have some facts about the internment camps that I've been dying to share since I started writing this story, but I try to keep the facts relevant to the specific chapters, so I'll just have to wait a little longer! Look forward to that in the future :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains some very graphic depictions of violence. The next few chapters might be like that as well since we're in the middle of a battle. However, this chapter is especially graphic, so please read with caution!

“Catch!” Lance yelled. Keith’s hand just barely closed around the long object before it hit him in the face. They were in Pidge’s blacksmith room, grabbing their respective weapons. Keith glanced down to see that the object he was holding was a spear.

“He can’t come with us!” Pidge snarled. “What if he turns on us and helps Hook attack the Alteans?”

“We can’t leave him here!” Hunk called from where he was lifting a giant crossbow from a table. “We can’t spare anyone to keep an eye on him.”

Hunk’s words stung Keith, but there were bigger things to worry about. Shiro was here, and he was attacking people. Shiro was here. He was here.

“Fine,” Pidge growled, “we’ll bring him, but I’m not letting him fight with us!” They snatched some chains off the table. Keith didn’t have time to ask them what they needed those for, because the next thing he knew, everyone was rushing down the hall. He was confused when they passed the opening into the pond. He’d only ever entered the hide out from there before.

Instead the group ran further down the hallway than Keith had ever gone before. The hall was beginning to angle downwards as they went deeper underground. Suddenly, a wooden spiral staircase came into view. Keith struggled to keep up as the the other three leapt up the steps with ease. Just when he was certain the stairs would never end, they emerged into open air. The group was at the top of the tree that grew out of the center of the pond. Keith glanced around frantically, but he couldn’t find any way down. It was then that Hunk and Pidge grabbed onto some ropes hanging from the vines that formed a canopy over the pond. Without hesitation they leapt off, zip-lining down towards dry land. Keith was about to follow when Lance suddenly grabbed his waist from behind and lifted him in the air, flying after the other two.

Once they’d reached land, Lance set Keith down, unable to support him for too long with his injured shoulder. He then took the lead, flying at the head of the group. Keith could tell that Lance wanted to get to the Altean village as soon as possible. He could fly much faster than the others could run, so it would’ve been easy to leave them behind. However, Lance forced himself to fly slow enough so to stay with the group.

The first thing Keith noticed as they neared the village were the screams. There were screams of terror, shrieks of pain, battle cries. Then he spotted the smoke, curling up through the trees. Lance landed a little ways away, crouching low in the bushes and pulling Keith down with him.

“I’ll scout ahead and see what the situation’s like,” Hunk whispered before slinking off through the foliage. 

“Alright,” Pidge whispered to themself with a determined look on their face. Suddenly they grabbed Keith’s wrist and wrapped the chain around it tightly.

“Hey!” Keith yelped as Pidge tied the other end of the chain around a tree. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Making sure you don’t escape and join Hook,” Pidge snarled.

“No way,” Keith tugged against the chain. “You can’t just leave me here! I want to help!”

“Can you even fight?” Pidge spat.

“I-” Keith trailed off. He supposed wrestling with Shiro didn’t really count in a real battle. “I still want to help! Lance-!”

Keith turned to the other boy to appeal to him, but the look on Lance’s face told him that he had no intention of helping. “I’m sorry, Keith,” he said softly. “But you’ll be safer this way.”

“Yeah,” Pidge nodded. “On the off chance that you aren’t going to run and join Hook, at least now you won’t die.”

“You can’t just-!” Keith began, but then Hunk burst through the bushes.

“I didn’t see the princess or Hook,” Hunk gasped out, breathless, “but I spotted Coran taking on two pirates at once. The Alteans are fighting, but things look pretty bad. Hook’s people have lit a bunch of huts on fire. We should attack from the left flank. We can work our way in from there.”

“Got it,” Lance nodded, unsheathing his dagger. He turned to Keith and grabbed his free hand, the one still clutching the spear Lance had given him. “You should be far enough away that no one sees you, but if any pirates do attack, defend with this. We’ll come back and get you once this is all over.” Keith opened his mouth to protest, but the next thing he knew Lance had flung his arms around him, hugging him tight. “Stay safe,” Lance whispered in his ear, making shivers crawl down Keith’s spine. Keith felt Lance’s soft lips press against his cheek, but then he was gone, running off towards the smoke with Hunk and Pidge.

Keith wanted to scream. To tell Lance to not go, or else demand that they release him so that he could come too. However, he stayed silent. If any pirates heard him, he was screwed. He didn’t know how to use this spear, and having one wrist chained to a tree didn’t exactly up his odds of surviving.

Cursing, Keith hacked at the chains with the sharp end of the spear. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t work. He tried pulling his wrist out, but the metal only dug into his skin and drew blood. His cursing only growing, Keith tugged at the knot Pidge had tied, trying desperately to undo it. He didn’t even know what kind of knot it was, but it was clearly designed for keeping him from escaping. Still, all knots could be untied somehow. He just had to keep trying.

Minutes dragged by with no progress. Keith could smell the soot. He could hear the screams, and the pounding of feet as people ran by. He couldn’t just stand here. He had to help! He had to see what was happening. What the hell was Shiro doing?

For the millionth time Keith’s hand slipped off the chain, his fingers warn raw from tugging. “Fuck!” he screamed in frustration. That’s when he noticed an eerie pause. The sound of flames still roared on, but a set of footsteps that had been running by stopped suddenly. Then the bushes began to rustle. The person was coming closer. Keith held his breath, wishing he’d just kept his mouth shut. Please, let it be an Altean!

“Ah, look what we have here,” a voice cackled from the brush. “Why you all chained up? You a sacrifice or something?”

Keith pointed his spear at the bush, his hand shaking uncontrollably. “D-don’t come any closer!” he yelled.

Suddenly a pirate shot into the open, knocking the spear out of his hand in one swift movement. The man grabbed Keith by the hair and yanked him off the ground. Keith shrieked in pain, his feet kicking out and finding nothing but air. The pirate leaned in close, a sinister grin curling around the edges of his mouth. “I’m gonna have fun killing you,” he chuckled.

“Let go of me!” Keith screamed. This time his feet connected with something and the pirate dropped him, bending over as he wheezed in pain. Keith scrambled to grab his spear, but the chain around his wrist stopped him just inches before his fingers could brush the weapon. “No!” Keith yelled, trying in vain to reach it. Suddenly a foot connected with the side of his head and Keith’s vision went white, stars erupting before his eyes. He didn’t even feel the fingers closing around his throat at first. Then reality burst around him once more and Keith was gasping for air, clawing at the man’s hands as they dug further into his neck. He couldn’t even cry for help.

“Stupid brat!” The man spat at him. “I was thinking of finishing you quickly, but just for that I’m gonna kill you nice and slow.”

Keith’s ears barely registered the pirate’s cruel laughter. His body was quickly growing numb, and his vision was going dark. His hands gave up their struggle and slumped uselessly down at his sides. Just then, the pressure around his neck was released. Keith collapsed, choking on the sudden rush of air to his lungs, his fingers brushing against his bruised neck. He didn’t have long to catch his breath, though, before he found the pirates hands crushing his windpipe once more. Keith let out a gurgling sound as he found himself fighting for his life once more. Again, he was on the verge of blacking out before he was released. He could just barely hear the pirate cackling as he coughed violently. It felt as though his lungs were on fire!

To his horror, the hands closed around his neck for a third time, leaving him to thrash about uselessly. It hurt so bad. He couldn’t breath and it burned. It was like his chest was going to explode! Is this what it felt like to die? The soothing blackness began to creep into his vision once more. Keith welcomed the beckoning sensation of numbness. However, it was snatched from him once again as the pirate drew back, leaving Keith to hack and sputter on the ground. He gazed up at his attacker through the tears in his eyes, trying desperately to force his voice out.

“Please,” Keith whispered. His voice sounded like gravel grinding together. “Please, stop it!” He tried to shrink back as the man’s hands snaked tauntingly towards him again, but he found his path blocked by the trunk of the tree he was chained to. “No! Please, don’t!”

Then the fingers seized him and the air was forced from his lungs once more. The was a slight taste of iron in his throat as his attacker laughed down at him. “You’re eyes get so huge!” The pirate exclaimed in glee. “But I’m getting kind of tired of this now.” He let Keith go, leave the boy to wheeze on the ground. The iron taste rushed into Keith’s mouth and he spat blood onto the jungle floor. He was trembling violently, his body exhausted as though he had just run a marathon.

“How about we start hacking pieces off you?” The pirate grabbed Keith’s chin roughly and forced his head up so that he was looking him in the eye. Keith’s eyes darted to the glint of a knife as it was held up to his face. A strained sob escaped his stinging throat. Ever so slowly, the pirate dragged the knife across Keith’s cheek. It was the same one Lance had kissed earlier, only now instead of Lance’s warm lips Keith could feel the warmth of his own blood as it ran down his face.

“I suppose I’ll cut up your face last,” the pirate sighed happily. “I want to be able to see your expressions when I’m tearing you apart, after all. Let’s see-” The man’s eyes scanned Keith’s shaking form. “I know! You seemed pretty desperate to get this chain off. How about I help you with that!”

Suddenly Keith’s head was dropped as the man grabbed his chained wrist instead. The pirate raised his knife high in the air, a look of pure malice twisted across his features. “NOOOOO!” Keith screamed, trying in vain to get away. The knife came down swiftly, and Keith squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t feel any pain at first. Just the heat of blood as it splattered across him. There was so much of it, seeping endlessly from the wound, drenching his clothes. Even though there was no longer a hand on his throat, Keith felt like he couldn’t breath. All he could hear was the sound of his heart, pumping wave after wave of blood out of his body. His mind could only form one thought. When would the pain hit? When would the pain hit? When would the-

“-EITH!”

Keith’s eyes flew open. He knew that voice. Lance’s face filled up his vision, tears streaming from those blue eyes as he violently shook Keith’s shoulders. Keith just stared at him in shock, confused as Lance flung his arms around him and held on tight, sobbing into his shoulder. Slowly, Keith turned towards his wrist. His entire left side was soaked in blood. However, his hand was still there, perfectly intact, the chain still keeping him bound to the tree. So where did all the blood come from?

Keith’s eyes traveled a bit further down, and he spotted his attacker lying on the ground. A deep gash in his neck was spilling blood around him. The man’s eyes stared up at Keith, blank and lifeless, a smirk still curled on his mouth. Keith screamed and tried to crawl back, only to be held in place by that damn chain.

“Keith!” Lance cried, his hands flying up to grasp either side of the boy’s face, forcing Keith to look at him. “It’s okay! You’re okay now!” Keith’s eyes welled up with tears and he collapsed into Lance, clinging desperately to him as he bawled. Lance started sobbing again too, and the two held onto each other.

Everything that had just happened flashed before his eyes. Keith had almost had his arm cut off. He’d almost been cut up until he bled out. He’d almost died. And Lance-. Lance had just killed that man. He had slit his throat. That realization settled in the pit of Keith’s stomach like a cold stone.

“I’m so sorry!” Lance was whimpering between sobs. “I thought you’d be safer here, and then I heard you scream and then-!” Lance pulled back a second to look at Keith’s face. His eyes fell on the nasty bruises forming around Keith’s neck and the thin trail of blood trickling down from his mouth. “Oh my god, Keith! I’m so sorry!”

“Lance-” Keith whispered. His voice sounded so raw and broken that it only made Lance cry harder.

“I’m so sorry,” Lance said. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Keith told him. “I’m alright.” He tried to smile reassuringly, but the strain from the muscles made his neck hurt and he winced.

Lance buried his face in Keith’s shoulder, his body shaking from the force of his sobs. “I thought I was going to lose you!”

“I’m right here,” Keith murmured. “I’m okay. You saved me.”

Keith made sure not to look in the direction of the thing Lance had saved him from. He felt nauseous. He’d never seen a corpse before. It didn’t even look human anymore.

A shriek from the direction of the village made the two of them jump. “Shit!” Lance muttered. Keith watched as Lance dipped his hand in some of the pirate’s blood, his stomach lurching at the sight. He jerked back as Lance moved his bloodied hand towards Keith’s wrist. “It’ll help loosen the knot,” Lance explained, hastily snatching Keith’s wrist and rubbing the blood on the chains. He then began to tug at the knot until it finally came loose. Keith sprung up, dashing backwards away from that tree and the corpse lying beside it. In his haste, however, he tripped over his own feet, landing hard on his back.

“Keith!” Lance cried, rushing over to him. “You alright?”

“Fine,” he croaked out, sitting up. Lance offered his hand to him but Keith hesitated when he saw it was still covered in the pirate’s blood. Noticing this, Lance switched to his other hand.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

“No, don’t be,” Keith said, taking his hand so that Lance could pull him up. “You saved my life. Thank you, Lance. Really.”

Lance blushed slightly, unable to meet the sincere look in Keith’s eyes. Instead he wiped his tears away, sniffling slightly. “You’re coming with me now,” Lance told Keith. I’m going to protect you. I won’t let anyone else hurt you.”

“I’ll protect you too!” Keith blurted out.

Lance laughed softly, and Keith shot him a glare before he noticed the look of pain in Lance’s eyes. “Just try not to die, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was intense!!! Thank god Keith's okay! I wrote it, but I still feel so bad for him. That's such a horrible thing to go through!!
> 
> Notes On Weapons.  
> I chose Lance's weapon as a dagger even though that's normally Keith's thing because Peter Pan has a dagger in the Disney movie. However, because of that I'm a little at a loss for what should be Keith's main weapon. The spear is just a temporary placeholder for now. Maybe I'll do throwing knives for him? Or perhaps a sword, like his bayard?  
> Pidge's weapon was the easiest to decide. I wanted something similar to their bayard in the show, and a whip has that same long-reach that their bayard had! Interestingly, Hunk's weapon was the hardest for me to decide. Again, I wanted something similar to his bayard. A sub-machine gun packs a lot of power (and of course those don't exist in Neverland), so I was thinking a mace or a club would be close enough. However, the problem I had with this was that Hunk's enormous muscles plus the pure crushing power of a mace would be instant death to any of his opponents, and I didn't want Hunk to just be some killing machine. I wasn't sure about the crossbow either, because he could just drop everyone around him with perfect head-shots, but then I realized that if he wants he can shoot everyone in the legs, so I went with that in the end. Basically, I want him to be badass, not an omen of instant death! Hunk is too powerful, my friends. Fear the sunshine child!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I quick summary of this chapter:  
> Everything is horrible. Keith and Lance flirt briefly. Everything gets much more horrible.  
> Thank you.

Fire and blood was everywhere. People ran between the burning huts, shouting and fighting. Weapons clashed and curses were screamed into the smoke-filled air. Lance seemed to weave effortlessly in and out of all the people. He came to the assistance of any of the Alteans who appeared to be struggling in their battles, and stayed out of the way of those who were winning. Watching how swiftly and gracefully he moved, Keith realized just how out of his depth he was. Lance had ordered him to stay back, and although Keith had hated the idea of standing on the sidelines, he now knew why he had to. He wouldn’t last five minutes in the middle of all that action. All this cemented one crucial fact for him: he needed to learn how to fight.

Keith had never seen a real battle before, much less been in one. The closest thing he had ever witnessed would be on movie screens. He now knew that in real life, it was much worse. He watched as the pirates and Alteans cut each other up, blood spraying amidst screams of pain.

“Hey, you!” A voice yelled. Keith jumped and spun around, brandishing his spear in fear. “Put that thing down before you hurt yourself,” an elderly Altean women frowned at him from where she was crouching by an injured warrior. “And stop standing around! Make yourself useful and help me carry the wounded off the battlefield.”

“Y-yes!” Keith replied, embarrassed. He dropped the spear and ran over to her, helping prop up the injured warrior between them. The man groaned, and Keith heard the woman say something to him in Altean.

Once they were far enough away, the woman beckoned for them to set the injured man down. She then winced and clutched at her back. “I am too old for this heavy lifting. You, go find more wounded and bring them here. I will tend to them.”

“O-okay,” Keith nodded uncertainly.

“Be quick about it!” the woman snapped.

Following her orders, Keith hurried back into the sea of burning huts, doing his best to skirt any fights taking place. Whenever he encountered an injured Altean, he carried them back to the elder who, true to her word, was busy dressing wounds and splinting broken bones. Keith had just finished carrying back the fourth person he’d found, and was out looking for more wounded, when someone leapt out at him. He cried out and threw his hands up to shield himself.

“There you are!” Lance cried, eliciting a sigh of relief from Keith. “I told you to stick by me! And where the hell is your spear?!”

“I had to drop it so that I could carry the wounded,” Keith replied.

“Why are you doing that?!” Lance frowned. “I mean, that may seem like the right thing to do, but what if a pirate ambushes you?! You’re not even armed!”

“Then protect me!” Keith yelled. There was silence for a moment. Lance stared at him in shock and Keith turned bright right. “I mean, um-. T-the thing is, I can’t just stand around and do nothing while other people get hurt! I’m useless for fighting, but at least I can do this! A-and if you're worried about me, then it just makes sense-”

“Deal,” Lance grinned at him. “Either way I’d have to watch your ass.” He paused for a moment before his own words sunk in. “I-I meant keep an eye on you! I’m not literally checking out your ass!”

Keith laughed as he dashed ahead into the flames. “I know it’s tempting, but try and keep your eyes at least shoulder-level while you’re ‘keeping an eye on me’, okay?”

Lance gawked at him. Had Keith just told a joke? Flirted with him? Both? Keith was standing there with a smirk that could rival one of Lance’s, a halo of fire surrounding him. The light of the flames reflected in his eyes and turned the edges of his hair gold. Dear lord, if he wasn’t the most gorgeous thing Lance had ever seen. Then Keith turned and dashed off, leaving Lance to shake himself out of his daze and chase after him.

Operations went relatively smoothly. With Lance now watching his back, Keith was able to help carry injured people from the thick of the battle. At one point Keith spotted Pidge absolutely wailing on a couple of pirates with their whip. Despite the fact that the pirates were the enemy, Keith couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

The elderly woman seemed to know Lance, as she shouted greetings at him each time he came back with Keith. She scolded him the entire time he was there, criticizing everything from the way he dressed to his manner of speaking. Lance would shoot some of his own criticisms back, which startled Keith at first. However, the woman seemed to be completely fine with it, and the two would compete to see who could one-up the other before it was time for Lance and Keith to head back out again.

Lance was nearby, fighting some pirates that had approached them when Keith spotted the next person to help. They were in bad shape. One of their legs was broken, judging by the bone protruding far out from the skin, and there was a deep gash in their side, spilling blood out all over the ground. Their breathing was shallow and rapid, and they stared up at Keith with glazed eyes as he approached them.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Keith whispered as he leaned down. “I’ll get you somewhere safe. This might hurt, but we’ve gotta move you away from here. You ready?”

The person nodded their head sluggishly. Keith reached down to try and lift them into his arms. He had barely touched them when they screamed in pain. This caused Keith to jump back, startled.

“I-I’m sorry!” Keith said hurriedly. “But we’ve gotta get you to the healer if you’re going to make it. Just bare with this.”

Wincing in empathy, he reached down again and scooped the person into his arms. Again, their pained screams filled the air, but Keith just spun on his heels so that he could hurry back to the elderly woman. In doing so, he almost collided with a figure standing directly behind him. He took a few steps back, horrified as he realized the woman standing before him definitely wasn’t an Altean.

“Well aren’t you sweet!” the pirate crooned, taking a step forward as Keith stumbled back, unable to move too quickly due to the injured person he was holding. “I wouldn’t bother trying to save that one, though. They’re a lost cause.” A dark expression crossed the woman’s face as she spoke her next words. “And so are you!”

“Lance!” Keith screamed as he tried to run away. There was no way he could move fast enough like this. “Help me!” He just barely dodged out of the way of a blow from the pirate’s cutlass, the injured Altean shrieking in pain at the rough movement. Maybe if he set the Altean down, he could lead the pirate away? But no, that was too big of a risk. The Altean was far too injured to run themselves, so if he did that the pirate could just kill them then come for Keith. His only hope was-

“Keith!” Lance cried in alarm. He had spun around in the middle of his own battle when he heard Keith screaming. He tried to run to him immediately, but his opponent took advantage of his distraction and kicked Lance’s legs out from under him. Lance went down hard. He rolled to the side and again tried to head towards Keith, only to be knocked down again by a kick in his injured shoulder. Lance’s pained screams filled the air.

However, the pirate by Keith wasn’t interested in watching this other battle. She was entirely focused on the target in front of her. Grinning, she faked a swipe to the right, causing Keith to dodge exactly how she had wanted. In the same instant, the pirate suddenly changed the angle of the sword, arcing up from below. Keith realized what was happening too late. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the cutlass to rip into his body.

“NO, KEITH!” Lance screamed from his spot on the ground, right before a kick to the gut knocked the breath from him.

Keith heard a woosh of air, then a shriek of agony. But it wasn’t his voice that was screaming. He opened his eyes to find that his attacker had buckled to her knees. She was clutching one of her legs, shrieking as blood oozed from it. An arrow protruded out of her shin. Another arrow zipped by Keith, flying past him to hit Lance’s opponent squarely in the shoulder. The man went down, his screams joining that of the woman. Lance kicked the man in the skull, knocking him out cold before he scrambled to his feet. He flew across the ground towards Keith, hitting the pirate by him with a flying kick that rendered her unconscious as well.

“Hunk, you glorious bastard!” Lance shouted to something behind Keith. Keith spun around to see that, sure enough, Hunk was standing a ways off, reloading his crossbow. “Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?” Lance called over to him.

“You could always say it more,” Hunk grinned.

“Will do!” Lance saluted. “Soon as this hellstorm’s over, you are getting the biggest hug of your life, pal, so brace yourself!”

“I can’t stand the anticipation!” Hunk joked. “And Keith! You’re doing a good thing, so maybe you should hurry up and keep doing it? That person you’re helping there doesn’t look like they’re in good shape.”

“Ah!” Keith exclaimed, glancing down at the Altean in his arms. He was so stunned by everything that had just happened in the last few seconds that he forgot what he was doing. “Sorry!” he whispered to the Altean as he hurried off in the direction of the healer. Lance was close on his heals. The Altean groaned in pain from being jostled around, but their screaming had subsided. Somehow that made Keith even more nervous.

They were about halfway there when a couple of pirates jumped out at them. Lance had flown at them immediately. He seemed extra on edge after their last battle. “You go ahead and get them to safety!” Lance called over his shoulder as he parried a blow with his dagger. “I’ll finish these assholes quickly then catch up!”

“Alright!” Keith yelled as he ran on.

A few moments passed in silence. Suddenly, Keith felt a hand weakly gripping at the collar of his shirt. He looked down to see the Altean gazing up at him through half-closed eyes. “You’re gonna be okay,” Keith told them. “It’s only a little further.”

“What’s your name?” the wounded Altean wheezed out. Their voice was soft and strained.

“I’m Keith. What’s yours?”

“Cellan,” they whispered.

“It’s nice to meet you, Cellan,” Keith smiled. “Just hold on a little bit longer, okay?”

The Altean shook their head so slightly it was barely noticeable. “I’ll be going first, Keith. You better not follow me any time soon.”

“No,” Keith shook his head more vigorously. “No, you’re going to be fine. We’re almost there!” He could see the bushes where the healer and her patients were concealed behind.

“Keith.” Cellan’s voice was so faint now that he could barely hear them.

“Yes, Cellan?”

“You have beautiful eyes.” With those words, Cellan shut their own eyes. The Altean suddenly felt different in Keith’s arms. They had been lying mostly still before, but there was still some tension in Cellan's frame. Now they were completely limp, their head rolling to the side ever so slightly.

“C-Cellan?” Keith choked. “Cellan, are you still there? Cellan?!”

The bushes were only a few steps away now.

“No,” Keith breathed. “No, no, no! Look, we’re here now! You're gonna be fine, we’re here, Cellan! It’s okay, you’re okay now!” Keith cleared the bushes and sunk to his knees. “HELP!” He screamed. “We need help over here right now! They’re really injured!”

The elderly woman dropped what she was doing and rushed over to him. However, as soon as she spotted the person in Keith’s arms, she knew.

“Keith,” the woman began gently.

“Why are you standing there?!” Keith exclaimed. “Why aren’t you doing something?! Help them!”

“Keith,” the elder placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “Keith, they didn’t make it.”

“No,” Keith whispered, staring wide-eyed down at the person laying so still in his arms. “No. That’s not true. I told Cellan they’d be fine. I told them they’d be fine! You don’t understand you, have to help!”

“Keith,” the elder repeated. Her voice was full of pity.

“No,” Keith whispered again. “Please, no.”

This wasn’t right. They had almost made it to the healer. They were right there! Cellan couldn’t just die right before they made it. It wasn’t right! It wasn’t-

A drop of water fell on the Altean’s face, and Keith realized he was crying. Tear after tear dripped from his eyes and rolled down his cheeks as he gazed at Cellan. They didn’t look anything like the corpse of the pirate from earlier. Cellan looked so peaceful, like they could be sleeping. Keith didn’t notice as Lance kneeled down across from him, or as the elderly woman moved away to continue tending the other wounded. His eyes were locked on his tears as they dripped onto Cellan’s face, trailing across their dark skin.

“Keith,” Lance spoke softly. Keith jumped, his eyes snapping up to him. “They're not suffering anymore.”

Keith gazed at the other boy with wide, tear-filled eyes. Lance was so calm. There was pain etched across his features, but that was the only sign that anything was wrong. How much death had he seen that he could react so calmly to this?

“Lance,” Keith choked out. “It’s my fault! I should’ve ran faster, I should've gotten away from that pirate! I should’ve-”

“This isn’t your fault,” Lance spoke softly. “Even if you’d gotten them back here, their injuries were so bad that they probably wouldn’t have made it. I’m sorry, Keith.”  
Keith shook his head slowly, sniffling. “We were almost there, Lance! We were almost-”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” Lance told him. “You did all you could to help them. Alright?”

Keith stared at him numbly. “Cellan.” He whispered.

“Hmm?” Lance asked.

“Their name was Cellan.”

Lance smiled at him. “It’s thanks to you that Cellan didn’t have to die alone on that field. You helped them, Keith. You did a good thing.”

Keith tried to speak again, but his voice broke down into heavy sobs. Lance gently lifted Cellan from his arms. At first Keith wouldn’t let go, but he finally relented, allowing Lance to take the Altean and set them carefully on the ground. Lance crossed Cellan’s arms over their chest and smoothed down their hair. Once satisfied, he moved to Keith and wrapped his arms around him. Keith leaned his body weight into the other boy, burying his head in Lance’s shoulder as sobs wracked his body. They remained that way for a long time, Keith crying uncontrollably as Lance hummed softly to him and rubbed circles into his back.

Finally, Keith quieted down. He lingered a moment longer before pulling back and wiping away the tears in his eyes. When he looked up, Lance was shocked to see the fury burned into his face.

“Let’s go find Hook.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cellan's name is pronounced sell-an. They had beautiful silvery-white short hair with the sides of their head shaved. They're eyes were so dark they looked almost black. Their tattoos were white. They were only 16.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What have I done to these poor characters?

Fire blazed around them. Smoke clogged the air. Bodies, thrashing and fighting, swirled in and out of view. The further in that Lance and Keith rushed, the more chaotic everything became. Keith had discovered a sword strapped to Cellan’s hip before they had left. He hadn’t taken it himself, feeling it to be disrespectful, but the medicine woman had caught him eyeing it and had given it to him. 

“Take it,” she had said, anger blazing in her eyes. “Avenge my people.”

Keith now clutched the weapon so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. He didn’t know how to use it but he didn’t care. Cellan was dead. They had died in front of him. Someone was going to pay. And who better than the man who had caused this all?

Lance was shooting Keith worried looks as he did his best to guide them through the fighting without drawing attention to themselves. Keith, however, ignored him. Rage pulsed through his veins as he carefully scanned the mass of writhing people. He cursed in frustration. It was almost impossible to see with all this smoke, and even harder to breath.

Just then a pirate lunged at him from the gray swirls. Keith cried out in rage and raised his sword, but Lance jumped in front of him at the last second. Swiftly, Lance parried the pirate's blow, knocking the man off balance. He took advantage of that moment to trip the attacker, and Lance swiftly hit him over the head as he fell, rendering him unconscious before he even hit the ground.

“I had that,” Keith snarled and Lance flinched, surprised by his outburst.

“Keith,” Lance began hesitantly, “you don’t even know how to use that thing.”

“You swing it at the bad guy,” Keith snapped.

Lance laughed at this clueless response but he shut up when he saw the look Keith was giving him. “Look, Keith, what happened back there was awful and I am so sorry. But getting yourself killed isn’t going to help anyone.”

“Then teach me how to fight!” Keith yelled.

Lance’s eyes widened in surprise before narrowing. He let out a frustrated huff. “We’re in the middle of a battle! I don’t exactly have time to-”

“Just give me the basics,” Keith interrupted. “You can’t always jump in front of me. Remember earlier when that pirate almost cut me down? We only made it because Hunk got there just in time, but that isn’t going to always happen!”

Lance winced at that, shame burning through him. Keith was right. That time, Lance had failed, and Keith had almost been killed as a result. “Fine,” Lance said quietly. “But this has to be quick, and I mean, really quick.” Keith nodded, that stony look still in his eyes. Lance was beginning to worry that he’d never see him smile again.

Lance glanced around, searching through the haze for a spot as far away from the fighting as possible. There appeared to be an empty space to their left, so he quickly led Keith over there. He held up his dagger and faced Keith. Keith brandished the sword in response. Lance’s heart almost stopped when he met the other boy’s gaze. Keith’s eyes were clouded over and there was hatred and unbridled rage swimming in those violet irises. He was looking at Lance like he was the enemy. Lance shook himself, forcing down his survival instincts that were telling him to run, to escape, to get as far away from those murderous eyes as possibly.

He couldn’t blame Keith. After all, he had just been thrown into his first battle and witnessed the death of an ally. Lance knew that initial feeling of powerlessness and despair, and how quickly it could turn to rage. Still, it was something Lance had hoped Keith would never have to go through. And yet, here they were, Lance crouched and ready while Keith- Well, to be honest, despite his battle-ready demeanor, Keith’s stance was downright sloppy.

“Your stance is awful,” Lance said matter-of-factly, relaxing his own body and heading over towards the other boy.

“Who cares about my stance, show me how to fight!” Keith demanded.

“I am,” Lance replied calmly. “Step one is your stance. You can learn all you want about ways to swing the blade, but it won’t do you any good with such a loose stance. Your opponent can slip into your space before you have time to counter and cut you open.”

Lance reached out slowly, keeping his eyes firmly on the sword in Keith’s hand. He knew Keith wouldn’t stab him, but he was still feeling a little on edge with Keith’s hostile demeanor. Carefully, Lance adjusted Keith’s arms and waist, prompting him to twist to the side a little and bend his knees slightly, keeping the sword closer to his body rather than extending it far out, as Keith had done before.

“This position keeps your body guarded and ensures that you are ready to attack or spring out of the way at a moment's notice.”

Keith nodded, eyes locked straight ahead. Lance’s own eyes fell on Keith’s hand clutching the hilt of the sword. He needed a lot more time than he had to teach this boy how to fight effectively.

“Okay,” Lance continued, pushing his anxiety down. “Now I’ll show you how to properly hold a sword.”

 

 

They spent ten of the most frantic minutes of Lance’s life going over the very bare-minimum basics. Lance gave Keith some tips on blocking and striking, but that was all he could do. Trying to give Keith too much information would just ensure that he’d remember none of it, plus they were already in a rush. A few times some fighters strayed too close, so Lance had to relocate their training further away, keeping his eyes open to make sure no one near them was in dire need of help. Luckily, all the Alteans that got close seemed to be in control of their battles, so he was able to focus as much as possible on Keith.

Once those ten minutes were up, Lance led them back into the thick of the fighting, still guiding them away from enemies. A few fighting tips were far from able to make Keith stand a chance against an experienced opponent. And now, with Keith ready to jump into the fray at a moment’s notice, Lance was extra on-edge. He had to make sure Keith didn’t get hurt. He had to.

Keith’s eyes were still sweeping widely around them, searching desperately for Hook. He needed to find that man. He had to make him pay. Cellan’s death would not be in vain.

The moment Keith spotted him, he forgot how to breath. His brother stood there, facing Allura in battle. He looked the same as Shiro. The same broad shoulders that Keith used to curl into for warmth on cold winter mornings. The same arms that used to wrap Keith tight in their embrace. The same face that once smiled and laughed with him. And the same eyes that-

No. Shiro’s eyes weren’t the same. They didn’t shine with love or happiness or comfort. They were dull and dark. Those weren’t Shiro’s eyes. Those were Hook’s. And Hook was going to pay.

Keith snarled and tried to run forward, only to find a pair of arms encircling him and holding him back. “Keith!” Lance yelled over the din of battle. “What the hell are you doing? Hook’s too dangerous for you to fight!”

“Get off me, Lance!” Keith screamed. He thrashed about, uselessly at first, until his foot connected with Lance’s shin. He heard a grunt of pain behind him, and the arms disappeared around him. Without sparing a glance back, Keith dashed forward, only one thought on his mind: Hook was going to pay.

He was halfway there when a pirate jumped into his path. Crying out in surprise, Keith just barely dodged the woman’s sword in time. He tried to run around her, but she just jumped in his way again, swinging at him. This time he wasn’t so lucky, and although he was able to avoid most of the blow, the blade swiped across his chest, leaving a scarlet trail in its wake.

Now Keith was furious. This pirate stood in his way of getting to Hook. In a blind rage, he lashed out at her, again and again. Although his movements were frighteningly fast, his aim still lacked precision, and the woman was able to leap away from each strike. Noticing that he left his lower body unguarded, she dropped down and easily kicked his legs out from under him.

Keith went down hard, the breath being crushed from his lungs. He just barely caught a glimpse of the woman raising her sword above him, victory gleaming in her eyes, before Lance appeared almost out of nowhere, blocking his view. He heard the clang of metal clashing together, and then the pair was out of his sight. Keith got to his feet and shook himself, eyes darting all around him to try and locate Hook again. He was nowhere to be seen, and Keith cursed in anger.

He turned and spotted Lance, still locked in battle. They were wasting time. That pirate didn’t matter. Hook did. With almost inhuman speed, Keith rushed up behind the woman. He may lack finesse, but he was naturally fast. He lunged forward with the sword, remembering Lance’s instructions on how to strike. The woman was just barely turning, having realized too late that someone was behind her. The pirate’s reflexes were all that saved her from serious injury. The blade grazed her, leaving a deep gash, but it didn’t stab into her as Keith had intended. Lance, acting simultaneously, hit her with the blunt end of his dagger before she could utter a cry.

The woman collapsed between them and they both stood there, Lance gazing in shock at Keith and Keith glaring down at the unconscious enemy. A chill set over Lance. That blow from Keith would’ve stabbed straight through the pirate if she hadn’t reacted so quickly. Judging from the angle, it wouldn’t have hit any of her major organs. Keith wasn’t coordinated enough to hit somewhere like that other than on pure chance, but he still hadn’t held back in the least. If he had been successful, even without hitting a main artery, the woman still could have bled out with a wound that deep.

“Hook,” Keith snapped, breaking into Lance’s thoughts. “We need to find Hook.”

“Keith-” Lance whispered quietly. He didn’t recognize the boy in front of him.

Keith didn’t wait to hear what Lance had to say. He simply spun on his heel, disappearing into the smoke. With dread filling Lance to the very core, he followed after him.

 

 

It took a few minutes of wandering, but there he was once more. Hook looked calm and collected as he dodged a blow from Allura’s staff, calculating every move. He was still covered in blood and bruises from their battle, but a cold sort of confidence shone from his features. Lance almost sighed in relief at the sight. Hook was dangerous now, lethally dangerous. But this was so much better than when he slipped into one of his episodes. When that happened he became like a wild animal: unpredictable and fighting with everything he had.

Now, maybe, Keith stood a chance. Or at least, he would have if he didn’t insist on charging straight at Hook like an idiot. Hook saw Keith coming a mile away, and he easily sidestepped his attack, allowing him to instead collide head-on with the Princess. The two toppled to the ground, and Lance had to rush in and keep Hook distracted while they recovered.

“Keith?!” Allura exclaimed in shock as she got back to her feet. “Thank god you’ve all arrived!” She pulled Keith back up but he didn’t even seem to hear her, instead turning immediately back to Hook. Keith ran up behind the pirate captain the same way he had to the woman earlier, but Hook was clearly the better fighter. He kicked Lance out of the way and swerved, dodging Keith’s swing before lashing out with his hook. Allura jumped in just then, saving Keith’s skin quite literally. Lance tried to land a blow but Hook spun and kicked him again, this time right in his injured shoulder. Lance screeched in pain as he hit the earth. Hook was upon him in a moment, but before he could strike Allura hurled her staff at him, forcing him to jump away.

“Lance, throw it back!” Allura yelled, and Lance did so, grimacing in pain the whole time.

Yet again Keith ran blindly at Hook, only to be kicked straight in the gut. He flew backwards, landing next to Lance on the ground. “Does he not know how to fight?!” Allura yelled as she swung at Hook, whose dodge was just a bit too slow and subsequently got him hit across the face.

“No!” Lance called back, wincing as he tried to get to his feet. “Allura please don’t let him get hurt!”

“If he can’t fight then why’d you bring him into battle?!” the princess yelled angrily.

“You were doing better on your own, Princess!” Hook interjected. He launched himself at her, and this time she reacted too slow, the conversation distracting her. His hook sliced down into her shoulder and she cried out, jumping swiftly out of his range as she clutched at the wound. Blood seeped from between her fingers.

“I’m sorry!” Lance exclaimed as he charged at Hook, his dagger connecting with the man’s prosthetic. “I couldn’t stop him!”

“I’m right here!” Keith screamed as he barreled towards Hook once more.”And I’m not going anywhere!”

“Keith!” Lance shrieked. Hook merely twisted his body to avoid the sword, his Hook arcing in towards Keith’s throat. Lance threw himself into the other boy, knocking him to the side and out of harm's way. Hook’s weapon instead cut into Lance’s side as they sailed by. Allura took the opportunity to jump back into the fray, managing to hit the pirate captain squarely in the chest and send him flying backwards.

“You have to get him out of here!” Allura shrieked. “This isn’t some war game he can play! If he can’t fight, he’ll only get in the way!”

“I said I’m not going anywhere!” Keith screamed. Allura paused a moment, shocked by his tone of voice. She looked into Keith’s eyes and saw the fury there. Realization dawned upon her features. Unfortunately, Hook took that moment to his advantage. He slipped behind Allura, his hook swiping at her exposed back.

“Allura, watch out!” Lance screamed. In a movement too fast for Keith’s eyes to follow, Lance swept his arm through the air. The dagger sailed from it, burying itself into Hook’s shoulder with pinpoint accuracy. The pirate captain shrieked and fell back, giving Allura time to spin around and send him flying with a powerful blow of her staff.

Keith didn’t hesitate. He ran at Hook yet again, but this time the captain was too busy yanking the dagger from his shoulder to react in time. Keith’s sword swung down, slicing a deep gash in Hook’s good arm as he just barely rolled aside. The man screamed in pain, trying desperately to get back up. Except Allura was upon him now, and she knocked him down once more, sideswiping him so hard that a bloody cut opened across his chest. Without hesitation she struck again, hitting him hard in the jaw. Keith drove his blade down, slashing him in the side as Allura struck across his other side.

Hook’s eyes were unfocused now. It almost looked as though he might pass out. A maniacal grin ripped across Keith’s face. Was this it? Had they won? Was it all over?

He raised his blade for a final blow. Even in his rage-filled state, Keith didn’t plan to kill Hook. He just wanted to hurt this monster in a way he’d never forget. How dare Hook come here and attack innocent people! How dare he cause the death of Cellan! How dare he look like Shiro! How dare he look like Shiro! HOW DARE HE LOOK LIKE SHIRO!

“KEITH, GET BACK!” Lance screamed.

Keith froze. Hook’s eyes below him had changed. They weren’t looking at him. Thank god, they weren’t looking at him. But they still changed. Those eyes were wide with panic. With fear. And something else. Something deadly.

Keith felt a body collide with his and he toppled to the ground, rolling over and over as Lance clutched to him. They landed several feet away. That distance wasn’t far enough.

“I WON’T DIE HERE!” Hook screamed, his voice completely inhuman.

The pirate captain was upon them in seconds. He ripped Lance from Keith, hurling the boy across the ground before chasing after him. Keith tried to get to his feet. He tried to run to them. But his body felt paralyzed, pure terror overcoming him.

Lance screamed as the hook stabbed down into his chest, right where his heart was.

Keith had been right. It was all over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was by far the hardest chapter to write yet. I've already started the next chapter, because it would be cruel to leave you guys hanging like this. I might even have the next chapter posted before you read this one, since I'm posting so late at night/early in the morning. However, time zones are different for everyone, so who knows. Point is, the next chapter will be posted within a few hours of this one. Sorry for how serious and intense this one was!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is ^_^ I feel like I aged ten decades just writing these two chapters.

Lance had instantly recognized what was happening the moment Hook’s eyes had changed. Hook didn’t exactly make a habit of attacking the Altean village before now, so Allura didn’t understand what that meant. Keith hadn’t fought Hook before now either, so he didn’t understand what it meant. But Lance did. As soon as Hook’s gaze switched from sinister and collected to, well, that, it meant danger. Extreme danger. And Keith was standing much too close.

Lance was running towards the other boy before his words of warning had even left his mouth. He slammed into him full-force, not bothering to slow down. They had to get as far away as possible as fast as possible, painful or not. Lance’s mouth opened in a silent scream as his shoulder hit the ground repeatedly while they rolled over and over. It hurt. Dear god, it hurt.

Then he felt himself being pulled back, away from Keith. He was flying through the air, before the ground hit him mercilessly in the head. Stars erupted before his eyes. Everything hurt! Then the stars were replaced by Hook’s face. That horrible, terrifying face with eyes blown wide, all sanity within them lost. Simultaneously a sharp pain pierced into his chest. Panic welled up in Lance. His heart. The two places most important to protect where his neck and his heart. He screamed as agony ripped through him, his muscles shredding under the hook’s point.

His dagger. Where was his dagger?! That’s right. Lance hadn’t had time to retrieve it before knocking Keith out of the way. He was completely defenseless.

The pirate captain twisted his hook in Lance’s chest and the boy screamed, his vision going white. It hurt! Lance was faintly aware of Allura charging towards Hook, only to be knocked to the side by a powerful swipe from his fist. He couldn’t hear anything anymore, other than the blood rushing in ears. It was deafening. So deafening he thought his ear drums might burst.

It was then that Lance felt something cold press against his forehead and he realized this was it. It was all over. For some strange reason that Lance couldn’t fathom, he felt calm. He turned his head to the side, searching for Keith. His eyes fell on the boy, staring at him with fear and horror. His mouth was open, screaming something, but Lance couldn’t hear it. He was just content to stare into those violet eyes one last time.

 

 

Keith watched as Hook twisted his weapon inside Lance’s chest. He watched Lance scream. He watched as Allura tried to help, only to be thrown back with a single blow, falling hard on her side. Keith’s mind wasn’t working, his legs weren’t working. Nothing was working.

Keith watched as Hook, pupils blown impossibly wide, reached into his jacket and extracted a tiny, white and black object. He pressed it to Lance’s forehead. It was so small Keith didn’t even realize what it was at first, but then recognition hit him. It was a pistol. A tiny, single-shot pistol. Keith hadn’t even known guns existed here. But there it was, against Lance’s head.

Keith watched as Lance turned to him. His eyes were soft. He didn’t look afraid. He didn’t look angry. He just looked content. That was the worst thing. Lance was about to die, and he looked content. There was nothing that was okay about that. There was nothing that could ever be okay again.

Keith could have screamed a lot of things in that moment. Rational, understandable things, such as yelling Lance’s name, or calling for Allura to help, or just letting a desperate, incoherent scream rip from his lungs and consume him. But Keith’s mind wasn’t working. Nothing was working. So instead, he screamed this:

“SHIRO, STOP!”

There was silence. Keith didn’t understand it. He didn’t understand anything, but Shiro had stopped. He'd frozen in place. Then he was turning, turning his face ever so slowly towards Keith. There was shock etched into his features, but that wasn’t what Keith noticed the most. The first thing he saw, when Shiro’s eyes met his, was the recognition in them. The pain. The love.

“Keith-” Shiro choked out. He rose slowly off of Lance before taking a step towards his baby brother. “Keith, what are you doing here?!”

There was still fear and panic in his eyes, just as there had been before. But now that was joined with love, with a fierce loyalty and protectiveness. Keith’s heart, already strained beyond reason from witnessing Lance on the brink of death, now collapsed in his chest. This man was Shiro. This was Shiro, his brother, standing before him. Shiro-

“Keith!” Shiro exclaimed, sounding so confused and scared.

Keith saw Allura too late. He watched, silently, unable to utter a sound as she bashed Shiro across the back of the head with her staff. Shiro crumpled to the ground, the whole earth seeming to shake when he landed. Keith just stared. That man was Shiro. The man that had led his crew to attack this village was Shiro. The man that had locked Keith up on his ship was Shiro. The man that had looked at Keith so many times without recognizing him, had even proclaimed out loud that he didn’t know Keith, was Shiro. Hook was Shiro.

Keith couldn’t feel anything anymore. Not hurt, not betrayal, not relief, not joy, not anger, not fear. He was numb. Everything around him felt numb. Shiro lay there. Lance lay beyond him. All Keith felt was numb.

“Lance!” Allura cried, rushing to his side and kneeling beside him. “Lance, look at me!”

Lance stared up at her hazily. The adrenaline from earlier was still coursing inside him. He felt light, and yet impossibly heavy at the same time. He was losing blood fast.

Keith didn’t hear Allura screaming at him. He didn’t hear anything except for the ringing in his ears. Hook was Shiro. Hook was Shiro. Hook was-

Reality hit him at the same time Allura’s palm did. Keith fell onto his side, clutching his cheek. “Pull yourself together!” Allura yelled. “Lance needs medical help, now! You need to get him to a healer!”

Lance. Who was Lance? Why was Shiro just lying there? Why was he dressed so strangely? Why was there so much blood on him? Who was this lady, yelling at him? Where even was this place?

Allura yanked Keith roughly to his feet and dragged him over to Lance. Keith stared down at the boy below him whose breathing had become rapid and shallow. He knew that face. He recognized this boy. Did they go to school together? Why was he bleeding? He looked like he needed help.

“Take him to the healer!” Allura commanded as she lifted Lance into her arms. She thrust him at Keith, who just barely managed to grab him in time. “I must watch Hook, and make sure the pirates don’t escape with him,” Allura added grimly.

Pirates? Who was Hook? Why was this boy hurt? Where did Keith know him from?

“Go!” Allura yelled, spinning Keith around and shoving him. Keith’s feet started to move. He was surprised. He hadn’t told them to move. But they were moving. And they were going faster and faster. Who was this boy? Would he be okay? He looked like he was dying.

“Keith,” Lance wheezed.

The boy knew his name. Keith felt like he should know his name too. What was it? The name felt so close, tantalizingly there before him, yet only just out of reach.

The boy’s voice was so quiet that Keith could barely hear him. “Keith, everything’s okay.” 

Everything was not okay. He should know this boy’s name. Why didn’t he?

The boy reached up, his hand shaking violently. He wiped away the tears on Keith’s cheek. Oh. Keith was crying. He hadn’t even realized he was crying. Why was he crying?

There was a bush. Beyond the bush lay a bunch of wounded people. There was an old woman, tending to the people. Keith’s feet stopped. They seemed to have found this place on their own. The old woman ran over. She was saying things frantically. She commanded him to get this, fetch that. Keith’s body moved automatically, doing all she asked without ever really hearing her words.

“Keith.”

The boy had said his name again.

“Keith. Keith. Keith. Keith.”

“Why do you keep saying that?” Keith spoke. He was surprised. He hadn’t meant to speak. His body just did.

The boy smiled at him. The smile was soft. His eyes were dim. “It just sounds nice, Keith.”

“Don’t speak, Lance!” The old woman snapped.

Despite the fact that Keith’s ears hadn’t registered a single word the old lady had said before, he heard that sentence loud and clear. Lance.

“Lance!” Keith yelled, everything crashing down on him at once. He was in Neverland. They were in a battle. Lance was dying.

Keith’s hand shot out and he grabbed Lance’s, winding their fingers together. Lance winced.

“Don’t squeeze his fingers off,” the healer snapped. Keith jumped and loosened his grip, feeling guilty.

“Lance, you’re going to be okay,” Keith said, his voice breaking. “You’re gonna be fine! Lance!”

“He’s not if you don’t pass that needle!” the old woman barked. Keith scrambled and did as he was told, scraping his hand in the process. The healer snatched it from him and immediately began to stitch up the wound in Lance’s chest. “The blood loss is bad,” she stated out loud. “But you got lucky, you stubborn jack-ass.” Lance grinned at that remark. “Whatever weapon was used to cause this was either very dull or not very effective. It tore some muscle but it didn’t reach your heart.”

Those words echoed over and over again in Keith’s head. It didn’t reach his heart. Tears flooded with new vigor from Keith’s eyes. Sobs began to escape his lips and soon he was bawling. He shook as he just let everything out. All the stress, all the fear, all the pain. He felt Lance squeeze his hand, and heard the healer comment on how he was getting tears all over the bandages, but Keith couldn’t stop.

Several minutes later and Keith’s throat had gone raw, no more sounds escaping. The healer sat back after wrapping the last bandage and giving Lance some herbs that were supposed to numb the pain. “That should do,” she stated. A sigh of relief left her, and for the first time, Keith saw her drop her guard and reveal how worried she had been. That only lasted a second, however, before she was getting to her feet. “Well, I know you may think your special, coming in here all busted up, but I have other patients to attend to.”

“My plan worked,” Lance joked, his voice raspy. “I got injured just so I could take up as much of your time as possible.” 

“I know you did,” the old woman glared good-naturedly at him. “Now you and your boyfriend talk things out or whatever you need to do. Just don’t strain yourself, or I’ll come over here and force you to rest!” She shook her fist threateningly at him before turning and scurrying over to a woman who was having a coughing fit.

Keith and Lance both blushed at that boyfriend remark, neither able to deny it before the healer was gone. Lance looked up at him, and Keith returned his gaze. For a moment there was just silence. Finally, Keith spoke. “I thought I was going to lose you.” His voice was raw and full of pain.

“I can’t be killed that easily, mullet,” Lance smirked at him.

Another pause. Keith reached down and slowly started to stroke Lance’s hair. Lance blushed but he leaned into the touch. “I-I thought I was going to lose you, too,” Lance admitted. “First when you were chained to that tree and that pirate attacked you, then when you lost your mind and just started running at Hook. That was stupid by the way.”

Keith smiled weakly at him. “I know.”

“I just want you to know that you’re an idiot.”

“I know.”

“And you owe me big time.”

“Yes.”

“And you should kiss me.”

Keith froze, his hand pausing in Lance’s hair. Lance’s face turned beat red and he looked away. “I mean, i-if you want to. You don’t have to. Maybe I was just reading wrong into this. But that’s a lot of stuff to read wrong into, so I just thought-”

Keith leaned down and pressed his lips to Lance, cutting him off mid-sentence. Lance shut up immediately, his eyes going wide before he closed them. It felt like forever and at the same time, it felt like no time had passed at all. Lance’s lips were soft, but slightly chapped. The breath from his nose came out in little puffs that brushed against Keith’s skin. He was warm and alive and right here. And Keith was kissing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank god. They're okay, they kissed, and I can go to sleep! Obviously not all is well, but the rest can be addressed in another chapter on another day!


End file.
